# 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, 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.

## Offseason
### Draft

1979 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | 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 |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Varian Bristow | Tight end | Johnson C. Smith |
| Steve Brothers | Defensive back | Baylor |
| Kyle Grossart | Quarterback | Oregon State |
| Carlos Henderson | Defensive back | Eastern Michigan |
| Randy Hughley | Linebacker | Wyoming |
| Bobby Kimball | Wide Receiver | Oklahoma |
| John Kelly | Tight end | C. W. Post |
| Vince McCoy | Tight end | Tennessee State |
| Scott O'Brien | Defensive end | Wisconsin–Superior |
| James Pickens | Defensive Back | Michigan |
| Michael Rieker | Quarterback | Lehigh |
| Ron Smith | Linebacker | Clemson |
| Bob Unruh | Kicker | Wheaton |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| 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 |

### Season summary
#### Week 15: vs. Chicago Bears

| Quarter | 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 :
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
CHI – Mike Phipps – 10/25, 113 yards, 1 INT
GB – Lynn Dickey – 20/37, 283 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
CHI – Walter Payton – 25 rushes, 115 yards
GB – Ricky Patton – 18 rushes, 35 yards
Top receivers
CHI – Rickey Watts – 4 receptions, 68 yards
GB – James Lofton – 6 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD :

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | 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. 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.