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
Pro Bowler
1979 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection116Ted BrownRunning backNC State243Dave HuffmanCenterNotre Dame372 Selection forfeited due to illegal tryout497Steve DilsQuarterbackStanford5129Jerry MeterLinebackerMichigan6152Joe SenserTight endWest Chester7181Bob WinkelDefensive tackleKentucky8207Traded to the Baltimore Colts9236Billy DiggsWide receiverWinston-Salem State10263Traded to the New York Jets11291Brian NelsonWide receiverTexas Tech12317David StephensLinebackerKentucky
Notes
Undrafted free agents
+ 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDouglas CunninghamWide receiverRiceSteve GortzPunterUNLVKyle HeinrichSafetyWashingtonPerry KozlowskiSafetyNorth Dakota StateKeith NordSafetySt. Cloud StateTony NormanDefensive endIowa StateSammy SteinmarkSafetyWyomingMarc TrestmanSafetyMinnesota State–Moorhead
Roster
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 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
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 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
References