1979 Buffalo Bills season
The 1979 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and the 20th overall.
| 1979 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Chuck Knox |
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Home field | Rich Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–9 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Head coach Chuck Knox spent his second season with the Bills in 1979, improving on 1978's record by two games. The Bills were 7–6 with three games left to play, but they lost their final three games to finish with a losing record. (Even if Buffalo had won their final three games, they still would have lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Miami Dolphins (who finished 10–6) for the division title.)
Buffalo's loss to Miami in Week Seven was their 20th straight loss to the Dolphins, an NFL record.
The 1979 Bills were dead-last in rushing yards in the NFL, with only total 1,621 yards on the ground.[1] Buffalo's 268 points scored was 23rd of the league's 28 teams.[2]
Offseason
NFL Draft
Three of Buffalo's first four picks made at least one Pro Bowl: wide receiver Jerry Butler, nose tackle Fred Smerlas, and linebacker Jim Haslett. Haslett was named 1979 AP Rookie of the Year. Smerlas made five Pro Bowls: in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 & 1988.
Defensive end Ken Johnson, center Jon Borchardt, and defensive backs Jeff Nixon and Rod Kush all played for the Bills for six years each, from 1979–1984.
| = Pro Bowler [3] |
| Round | Pick # | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Tom Cousineau | Linebacker | Ohio State |
| 1 | 5 | Jerry Butler | Wide receiver | Clemson |
| 2 | 32 | Fred Smerlas | Nose tackle | Boston College |
| 2 | 51 | Jim Haslett | Linebacker | Indiana (PA) |
| 3 | 62 | Jon Borchardt | Guard | Montana St. |
| 4 | 83 | Ken E. Johnson | Defensive end | Knoxville |
| 4 | 87 | Jeff Nixon | Defensive back | Richmond |
| 5 | 114 | Rod Kush | Defensive back | Nebraska-Omaha |
| 5 | 116 | Dan Manucci | Quarterback | Kansas St. |
| 6 | 141 | Mike Burrow | Guard | Auburn |
| 7 | 170 | Tom Mullady | Tight end | Rhodes |
| 9 | 226 | Kevin Baker | Defensive end | William Penn |
| 10 | 253 | Dave Marler | Quarterback | Mississippi St. |
| 11 | 279 | Paul Lawler | Defensive back | Colgate |
| 12 | 308 | Mike Harris | Running back | Arizona St. |
Tom Cousineau
Ohio State linebacker Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Bills, who acquired the pick from the San Francisco in a trade for O.J. Simpson. Cousineau never played a game with the Bills. He instead signed with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes where they offered double the money that the Bills originally offered. Cousineau became a star there, becoming the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in the 1979 season. Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, and in 1982 the Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. He was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft.[4] That pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed a five-year contract for 2.5 million dollars, the most ever for a Cleveland Brown player at the time.[5]
Personnel
Staff/Coaches
| 1979 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Coaching Staff
Offensive Coaches
Defensive/Special Teams Coaches
| ||||||
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2, 1979 | Miami Dolphins | L 9–7 | |
| 2 | September 9, 1979 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 51–24 | |
| 3 | September 16, 1979 | at San Diego Chargers | L 27–19 | |
| 4 | September 23, 1979 | New York Jets | W 46–31 | |
| 5 | September 30, 1979 | at Baltimore Colts | W 31–13 | |
| 6 | October 7, 1979 | Chicago Bears | L 7–0 | |
| 7 | October 14, 1979 | at Miami Dolphins | L 17–7 | |
| 8 | October 21, 1979 | Baltimore Colts | L 14–13 | |
| 9 | October 28, 1979 | at Detroit Lions | W 20–17 | |
| 10 | November 4, 1979 | New England Patriots | L 26–6 | |
| 11 | November 11, 1979 | at New York Jets | W 14–12 | |
| 12 | November 18, 1979 | Green Bay Packers | W 19–12 | |
| 13 | November 25, 1979 | at New England Patriots | W 16–13 | |
| 14 | December 2, 1979 | Denver Broncos | L 19–16 | |
| 15 | December 9, 1979 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–3 | |
| 16 | December 16, 1979 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 28–0 |
Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Miami Dolphins(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 341 | 257 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 411 | 326 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 337 | 383 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 268 | 279 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–10 | 271 | 351 | W1 |
Awards and honors
All-Pros
- Joe DeLamielleure, Guard
References
- Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1979 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics The Bills rushed for 101.3 yards per game; the league average for rushing yards was 135.6 yards per game.
- Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1979 Buffalo Bills
- Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- Sports People; Browns Get Cousineau from the New York Times archives, retrieved March 8, 2006
