# 1979 Chicago Bears season

The 1979 Chicago Bears season was their 60th regular season and 14th postseason completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 10–6 record under second year coach Neill Armstrong but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 27–17 in the opening round of the playoffs.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1979 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 4 | Dan Hampton * $^†$ | Defensive end | Arkansas |
| 1 | 9 | Al Harris | Defensive end | Arizona State |
| 2 | 39 | Rickey Watts | Wide receiver | Tulsa |
| 3 | 66 | Willie McClendon | Running back | Georgia |
| 6 | 147 | John Sullivan | Linebacker | Illinois |
| 7 | 174 | Lee Kunz | Linebacker | Nebraska |
| 8 | 203 | Rick Moss | Defensive back | Purdue |
| 9 | 230 | Jerome Heavens | Running back | Notre Dame |
| 10 | 257 | Joe Restic | Defensive back | Notre Dame |
| 11 | 286 | Bob Wright | Offensive tackle | Cincinnati |
| 12 | 312 | Dave Becker | Safety | Iowa |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Maurice Horton | Wide receiver | No College |
| Pete Kraker | Quarterback | Northern Illinois |
| Carl Larson | Center | St. Cloud State |
| Jim Moore | Center | Wisconsin |
| Mark Moselle | Guard | Wisconsin–Superior |
| Phil Olson | Tight end | Dartmouth |
| Dave Petzke | Wide receiver | Northern Illinois |
| Pat Wacker | Wide receiver | North Dakota |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 2 | Green Bay Packers | W 6–3 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 56,515 |
| 2 | September 9 | Minnesota Vikings | W 26–7 | 2–0 | Soldier Field | 53,231 |
| 3 | September 16 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 20–24 | 2–1 | Texas Stadium | 64,056 |
| 4 | September 23 | at Miami Dolphins | L 16–31 | 2–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 66,011 |
| 5 | September 30 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–17 | 2–3 | Soldier Field | 55,258 |
| 6 | October 7 | at Buffalo Bills | W 7–0 | 3–3 | Rich Stadium | 73,383 |
| 7 | October 14 | New England Patriots | L 7–27 | 3–4 | Soldier Field | 54,128 |
| 8 | October 21 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 27–30 | 3–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 41,164 |
| 9 | October 28 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 28–27 | 4–5 | Candlestick Park | 42,773 |
| 10 | November 4 | Detroit Lions | W 35–7 | 5–5 | Soldier Field | 50,108 |
| 11 | November 11 | Los Angeles Rams | W 27–23 | 6–5 | Soldier Field | 51,483 |
| 12 | November 18 | New York Jets | W 23–13 | 7–5 | Soldier Field | 52,635 |
| 13 | November 22 | at Detroit Lions | L 0–20 | 7–6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 66,219 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 14–0 | 8–6 | Tampa Stadium | 69,508 |
| 15 | December 9 | at Green Bay Packers | W 15–14 | 9–6 | Lambeau Field | 54,207 |
| 16 | December 16 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 42–6 | 10–6 | Soldier Field | 42,810 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

* Network: CBS
* Announcers: Dick Stockton and Johnny Morris
Bob Thomas booted a pair of field goals and Walter Payton rushed for 125 yards on 36 carries in 80 degree heat as the Bears won their opener. Thomas who had a field goal attempt blocked by Packers' Mike Hunt in the first quarter converted from 25 and 19 yards in the second quarter and the Bears banked on an aggressive defense which was credited with five sacks for the triumph. Chester Marcol, who had a field goal blocked by Virgil Livers, later connected for Green Bay's only score with a 28 yarder. The Bears defense aided by a pair of excellent punts by Bob Parsons, kept the Packers in tough field condition in the first half when Green Bay was limited to only three first downs.

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Week 15: at Green Bay Packers

| 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 :

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 23 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–27 | 0–1 | Veterans Stadium | 69,397 |

### 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 |