| 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 |
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, the first night game at Lambeau Field (previous night games had to be played at Milwaukee County Stadium, since Lambeau Field's original light standards were insufficient for night broadcasts). The Packers also defeated the archrival Minnesota Vikings at home for the first time since 1970.
|
Main article: 1979 NFL Draft |
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Grossart | Quarterback | Oregon State |
| Bobby Kimball | Wide Receiver | Oklahoma |
| Randy Hughley | Linebacker | Wyoming |
| Scott O'Brien | Defensive end | Wisconsin–Superior |
| Bob Pfister | Defensive Tackle | Arizona State |
| James Pickens | Defensive Back | Michigan |
| Michael Rieker | Quarterback | Lehigh |
| Ron Smith | Linebacker | Clemson |
| Week | Opponent | Result | Stadium | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Chicago Bears | L 3–6 | Soldier Field | 0–1 | 56,515 |
| 2 | New Orleans Saints | W 28–19 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 1–1 | 53,184 |
| 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 21–10 | Lambeau Field | 1–2 | 55,498 |
| 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 27–21 (OT) | Metropolitan Stadium | 1–3 | 46,524 |
| 5 | New England Patriots | W 27–14 | Lambeau Field | 2–3 | 52,842 |
| 6 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 7–25 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 2–4 | 56,184 |
| 7 | Detroit Lions | W 24–16 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 3–4 | 53,930 |
| 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–21 | Tampa Stadium | 3–5 | 67,186 |
| 9 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–27 | Orange Bowl | 3–6 | 47,741 |
| 10 | New York Jets | L 22–27 | Lambeau Field | 3–7 | 54,201 |
| 11 | Minnesota Vikings | W 19–7 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 4–7 | 52,706 |
| 12 | at Buffalo Bills | L 12–19 | Rich Stadium | 4–8 | 39,679 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–21 | Lambeau Field | 4–9 | 50,023 |
| 14 | at Washington Redskins | L 21–38 | RFK Stadium | 4–10 | 51,682 |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | L 14–15 | Lambeau Field | 4–11 | 54,207 |
| 16 | at Detroit Lions | W 18–13 | Pontiac Silverdome | 5–11 | 57,376 |
|
See also: 1979 Chicago Bears season |
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| 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 |
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.
