1979 Green Bay Packers season
The 1979 Green Bay Packers season was their 61st season overall and their 59th in the National Football League. The team posted a 5–11 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a fourth-place finish in the NFC Central division. The offense was still one of the worst in the NFL and the defense could not pick up the slack finishing dead last against the run. The only notable win the Packers had was a 27-14 victory on a Monday night against the New England Patriots.
| 1979 Green Bay Packers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Bart Starr |
| Home field | Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 4th NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Offseason
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Eddie Lee Ivery | Running Back | Georgia Tech |
| 2 | 44 | Steve Atkins | Running Back | Maryland |
| 3 | 71 | Charles Johnson | Defensive Tackle | Maryland |
| 6 | 153 | Dave Simmons | Linebacker | North Carolina |
| 7 | 184 | Rich Wingo | Linebacker | Alabama |
| 8 | 193 | Ron Cassidy | Wide Receiver | Utah State |
| 9 | 235 | John Thompson | Tight End | Utah State |
| 10 | 264 | Frank Lockett | Wide Receiver | Nebraska |
| 11 | 290 | Mark Thorson | Defensive Back | Ottawa |
| 12 | 318 | Bill Moats | Punter | South Dakota |
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Kimball | Wide Receiver | Oklahoma |
| Wylie Turner | Defensive Back | Angelo State |
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Opponent | Result | Stadium | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Chicago Bears | L 3–6 | Soldier Field | 0–1 | |
| 2 | New Orleans Saints | W 28–19 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 1–1 | |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 21–10 | Lambeau Field | 1–2 | |
| 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 27–21 (OT) | Metropolitan Stadium | 1–3 | |
| 5 | New England Patriots | W 27–14 | Lambeau Field | 2–3 | |
| 6 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 7–25 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 2–4 | |
| 7 | Detroit Lions | W 24–16 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 3–4 | |
| 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–21 | Tampa Stadium | 3–5 | |
| 9 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–27 | Orange Bowl | 3–6 | |
| 10 | New York Jets | L 22–27 | Lambeau Field | 3–7 | |
| 11 | Minnesota Vikings | W 19–7 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 4–7 | |
| 12 | at Buffalo Bills | L 12–19 | Rich Stadium | 4–8 | |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–21 | Lambeau Field | 4–9 | |
| 14 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–38 | RFK Stadium | 4–10 | |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | L 14–15 | Lambeau Field | 4–11 | |
| 16 | at Detroit Lions | W 18–13 | Pontiac Silverdome | 5–11 |
Week 15: vs. Chicago Bears
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: December 9, 1979
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: Overcast, 29 °F (−2 °C)
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Sonny Jurgensen
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers(2) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–6 | 273 | 237 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears(5) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 306 | 249 | W3 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 259 | 337 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 246 | 316 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 219 | 365 | L3 |
In popular media
The Packers versus Bears game of week 15 was used in an episode of That '70s Show ("Street Fighting Man") and was part of the seventh season. Eric invites his father, Red, to the game at Lambeau Field. Oddly, the Packers win in this episode, as opposed to real life, where they lost.[1] Eric refers to the Bears as the "underdogs", when the Packers would have likely been the underdogs in the game, since the Packers were 4–10 heading into the game and the Bears were 9–5 heading to the game.