1979 Minnesota Vikings season

1979 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Bud Grant
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Matt Blair WR Ahmad Rashad
Uniform

The 1979 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 19th in the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a 7–9 record, their first losing season since 1967, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1972.

The loss of Fran Tarkenton to retirement in the off-season meant third-year quarterback Tommy Kramer became the starter. The season also marked the end of an era as the last remaining original Viking, longtime defensive end Jim Marshall, retired after 19 seasons with the Vikings and 20 in the NFL, having set league records for most consecutive games played (282) and consecutive starts (270). Counting playoff games, he had started in every one of the 289 games in Vikings history. Safety Paul Krause also retired after the season ended; he holds the league record with 81 career interceptions.

Offseason

1979 Draft

Main article: 1979 NFL Draft

Pro Bowler

1979 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection
1	16	Ted Brown	Running back	North Carolina State
2	43	Dave Huffman	Center	Notre Dame
3	72	Pick forfeited due to illegal tryout[a]
4	97	Steve Dils	Quarterback	Stanford
5	129	Jerry Meter	Linebacker	Michigan
6	152	Joe Senser	Tight end	West Chester (PA)
7	181	Bob Winkel	Defensive tackle	Kentucky
8	207	Traded to the Baltimore Colts[b]
9	236	Billy Diggs	Wide receiver	Winston-Salem State
10	263	Traded to the New York Jets[c]
11	291	Brian Nelson	Wide receiver	Texas Tech
12	317	David Stephens	Linebacker	Kentucky

^{^[a]} The details of this forfeited pick are unknown.

^{^[b]} The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (207th overall) to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for OT Frank Myers.

^{^[c]} The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (263rd overall) and 1978 eighth-round selection (213th overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.

Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Reginald Barnes	Defensive back	Sacramento State
Perry Kozlowski	Free Safety	North Dakota State
Sammy Stinemark	Free Safety	Wyoming
Marc Trestman	Safety	Moorhead State

Roster

1979 Minnesota Vikings final roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Steve Dils  9 Tommy Kramer 11 John Reaves Running backs 23 Ted Brown FB 32 Jimmy Edwards KR 44 Chuck Foreman 33 Brent McClanahan 35 Robert Miller 34 Rickey Young Wide receivers 89 Douglas Cunningham 80 Terry LeCount 28 Ahmad Rashad 82 Robert Steele 85 Sammy White Tight ends 83 Stu Voigt 38 Bob Tucker		Offensive linemen 68 Charles Goodrum G 61 Wes Hamilton G 51 Jim Hough C 56 Dave Huffman G 74 Frank Myers T 78 Steve Riley T 67 Dennis Swilley C 73 Ron Yary T Defensive linemen 75 Randy Holloway DE 70 Jim Marshall DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE 71 Steve Niehaus DT 76 Dave Roller DT 69 Doug Sutherland DT 72 James White DE		Linebackers 59 Matt Blair 58 Wally Hilgenberg 57 Derrel Luce 54 Fred McNeill 50 Jeff Siemon 55 Scott Studwell Defensive backs 47 Tim Baylor FS 20 Bobby Bryant CB 45 Tommy Hannon SS 25 Kurt Knoff FS 22 Paul Krause FS 49 Keith Nord S 27 John Turner CB Special teams  8 Greg Coleman P  7 Rick Danmeier K		Reserve lists 87 Kevin Miller WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 65 Tony Norman DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 81 Joe Senser TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 79 Lyman Smith DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 43 Nate Wright CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 2	at Seattle Seahawks	L 9–12	0–1	Kingdome	60,881
2	August 11	at San Diego Chargers	L 0–19	0–2	San Diego Stadium	49,037
3	August 18	Miami Dolphins	L 10–21	0–3	Metropolitan Stadium	45,790
4	August 23	Kansas City Chiefs	L 0–25	0–4	Metropolitan Stadium	39,578

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 2	San Francisco 49ers	W 28–22	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	46,539
2	September 9	at Chicago Bears	L 7–26	1–1	Soldier Field	53,231
3	September 16	Miami Dolphins	L 12–27	1–2	Metropolitan Stadium	46,187
4	September 23	Green Bay Packers	W 27–21 (OT)	2–2	Metropolitan Stadium	46,524
5	September 30	at Detroit Lions	W 13–10	3–2	Silverdome	75,295
6	October 7	Dallas Cowboys	L 20–36	3–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,572
7	October 15	at New York Jets	L 7–14	3–4	Shea Stadium	54,479
8	October 21	Chicago Bears	W 30–27	4–4	Metropolitan Stadium	41,164
9	October 28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 10–12	4–5	Metropolitan Stadium	46,906
10	November 4	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 7–37	4–6	Busch Memorial Stadium	47,213
11	November 11	at Green Bay Packers	L 7–19	4–7	Milwaukee County Stadium	52,706
12	November 18	Detroit Lions	W 14–7	5–7	Metropolitan Stadium	43,650
13	November 25	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–22	6–7	Tampa Stadium	70,039
14	December 2	at Los Angeles Rams	L 21–27 (OT)	6–8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	56,700
15	December 9	Buffalo Bills	W 10–3	7–8	Metropolitan Stadium	42,239
16	December 16	at New England Patriots	L 23–27	7–9	Schaefer Stadium	54,719

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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

Awards and records

• On September 2, WR Ahmad Rashad caught four touchdown passes, which remains a Vikings single-game record.
• On November 25, the team blocked four kicks – two extra point attempts, a field goal attempt and a punt by Tom Blanchard – against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This remains a franchise record.
• On December 16, RB Rickey Young caught 15 passes, a single-game franchise record.

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Tommy Kramer	3,397
Passing touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	23
Rushing yards	Rickey Young	708
Rushing touchdowns	Rickey Young	3
Receiving yards	Ahmad Rashad	1,156
Receiving touchdowns	Ahmad Rashad	9
Points	Rick Danmeier	67
Kickoff return yards	Jimmy Edwards	1,103
Punt return yards	Jimmy Edwards	186
Interceptions	Tommy Hannon Nate Wright	4

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,139	196.2	12th
Rushing offense	1,764	110.3	23rd
Total offense	4,903	306.4	19th
Passing defense	2,697	168.6	11th
Rushing defense	2,526	157.9	26th
Total defense	5,223	326.4	18th