1979 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season

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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	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Dan Hampton	DE	Arkansas
1	9	Al Harris	DE	Arizona State	From Tampa Bay
2	39	Rickey Watts	WR	Tulsa
3	66	Willie McClendon	RB	Georgia
6	147	John Sullivan	LB	Illinois
7	174	Lee Kunz	LB	Nebraska
8	203	Rick Moss	DB	Purdue
9	230	Jerome Heavens	RB	Notre Dame
10	257	Joe Restic	DB	Notre Dame
11	286	Bob Wright	OT	Cincinnati
12	312	Dave Becker	DB	Iowa

Undrafted free agents

1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Pete Kraker	Quarterback	Northern Illinois
Jim Moore	Center	Wisconsin

Roster

**1979 Chicago Bears final roster**

	Quarterbacks 7 Bob Avellini 15 Mike Phipps Running backs 37 Willie McClendon 34 Walter Payton 25 Lonnie Perrin 22 Dave Williams FB Wide receivers 84 Brian Baschnagel 83 Kris Haines 85 Steve Schubert 89 James Scott 81 Harry Washington 80 Rickey Watts Tight ends 87 Mike Cobb 39 Robin Earl 88 Greg Latta		Offensive linemen 64 Ted Albrecht T 63 Tony Ardizzone C 60 Lynn Boden G 65 Noah Jackson G 62 Dan Jiggetts T 70 Dennis Lick T 52 Dan Neal C 69 Revie Sorey G Defensive linemen 75 Mike Calhoun DT 99 Dan Hampton DE 53 Tommy Hart DE 90 Al Harris DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 82 Alan Page DT 76 Ron Rydalch DT		Linebackers 55 Doug Buffone 59 Gary Campbell 51 Bruce Herron 54 Tom Hicks 57 Lee Kunz 50 Mark Merrill 58 Jerry Muckensturm Defensive backs 48 Allan Ellis CB 45 Gary Fencik SS 36 Wentford Gaines 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank FS 44 Terry Schmidt CB 47 Mike Spivey 23 Len Walterscheid Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Robert R. Thomas K		Reserve lists 79 Lionel Antoine T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 8 Vince Evans QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 35 Roland Harper FB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 74 Jerry Meyers DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Golden Richards WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 72 Brad Shearer DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 30 John Skibinski RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics

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

Date: December 2
Location: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
Referee: Fred Silva
Television network: CBS

Scoring summary

1	CHI	Walter Payton 1 yard run (Bob Thomas kick)	Bears 7–0

2	CHI	Dave Williams 13 yard pass from Mike Phipps (Bob Thomas kick)	Bears 14–0

^[1]

Week 15: at Green Bay Packers

Week 15: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

Period	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
[1]

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
view talk edit	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

References

^ Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links

1979 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com

Wikiquote has quotations related to 1979 Chicago Bears season.

v t e Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season
Records	Franchise records All-time record versus NFL Team awards and honors Players Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field
Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 Brian Piccolo Award "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Monsters of the Midway "Sweet Home Chicago" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Chicago Honey Bears Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse George Halas Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Jim Cornelison Club Dub ("Swag Surfin")
Lore	Staley Swindle 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game Sneakers Game T formation 73–0 ‘85 Bears Super Bowl XX 46 defense Asterisk Game Fog Bowl "They are who we thought they were!" Double Doink
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants
Minor league affiliates	Newark Bears (AA, 1939–1941) Wichita Aero Commandos (1942) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950) Quad City Mohawks (MWPFL, 1970-1972)
Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89
Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Kevin Warren General manager: Ryan Poles Head coach: Matt Eberflus
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006
League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: WMVP Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Jason McKie (sideline reporter) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears

v t e Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1979 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay