1979 Buffalo Bills season

20th season in franchise history November 2013 February 2026 Buffalo Bills 1979 7–9 4th AFC East Chuck Knox Ralph Wilson Rich Stadium Did not qualify G Joe DeLamielleure G Joe DeLamielleure (1st team) Bills seasons The 1979 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and 20th overall. 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 last in rushing yards in the NFL, with only total 1,621 yards on the ground.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. Buffalo's 268 points scored was 23rd of the league's 28 teams.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1979 Buffalo Bills Offseason NFL draft 1979 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 and 1988. Defensive end Ken Johnson, center Jon Borchardt, and defensive backs Jeff Nixon and Rod Kush all played for the Bills for six years from 1979 to 1984. 1979 Buffalo Bills 1 1 Tom Cousineau Linebacker Ohio State no 1 5 Jerry Butler Wide receiver Clemson yes yes 2 32 Fred Smerlas Defensive tackle Boston College yes yes 2 51 Jim Haslett Linebacker Indiana (PA) yes yes 3 62 Jon Borchardt Guard Montana State yes 4 83 Ken Johnson Defensive end Knoxville yes 4 87 Jeff Nixon Safety Richmond yes 5 114 Rod Kush Safety Nebraska-Omaha yes 5 116 Dan Manucci Quarterback Kansas State yes 6 141 Mike Burrow Guard Auburn no 7 170 Tom Mullady Tight end Rhodes no 9 226 Kevin Baker Defensive end William Penn no 10 253 Dave Marler Quarterback Mississippi State no 11 279 Paul Lawler Defensive back Colgate no 12 308 Mike Harris Running back Arizona State no yes no Tom Cousineau Tom Cousineau Ohio State linebacker Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Bills, who acquired the pick from 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,Sports People; Browns Get Cousineau from the New York Times archives, retrieved March 8, 2006 which would be 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] Undrafted free agents + 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeOrlando AlvarezWide receiverMontclair StateRod BroadwayDefensive TackleNorth CarolinaDerrick BurnettRunning backIndianaRobert CameronPunterAcadiaJerome CarterCornerbackDelaware StateDonald ClaytonPunterWyomingBill CrowleyLinebackerYaleLeroy McGeeRunning backMichigan StateRussell PopeCornerbackPurdueRonald RicksCornerbackKansas Personnel Staff/coaches 1979 Buffalo Bills staff Front office Majority owner/team president – Ralph Wilson Vice-president & general manager – Bob Lustig Vice-president/minority owner – Pat McGroder Coaching staff Head coach – Chuck Knox Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator / offensive line – Ray Proschaska Quarterbacks coach - Kay Stephenson Wide receivers coach – Jack Donaldson Defensive/special teams coaches Defensive coordinator / linebackers coach - Tom Caitlin Defensive line – Willie Zapalac Defensive backs – Jim Wagstaff Special teams – Steve Moore Roster 1979 Buffalo Bills 12 Joe Ferguson 11 Dan Manucci y  9 Bill Munson 47 Curtis Brown running back, born 1954 35 Mike Collier American football 25 Roland Hooks 40 Terry Miller running back 23 Steve Powell American football 80 Jerry Butler American football y 84 Danny Fulton 82 Frank Lewis American football 89 Lou Piccone 86 Leonard Willis 85 Ron Howard American football 87 Joe Shipp American football 73 Jon Borchardt y T 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Joe Devlin American football T 53 Will Grant C 72 Ken Jones American football T 67 Reggie McKenzie guard G 61 Willie Parker offensive lineman C 65 Tim Vogler y G 74 Dee Hardison DE 90 Scott Hutchinson American football DE 91 Ken Johnson defensive end, born 1955 y NT 71 Mike Kadish NT 83 Sherman White American football DE 77 Ben Williams American football, born 1954 DE 55 Jim Haslett y ILB 54 Tom Higgins Canadian football ILB 51 Dan Jilek OLB 52 Chris Keating American football y ILB 59 Shane Nelson American football ILB 58 Isiah Robertson OLB 57 Lucius Sanford OLB 29 Mario Clark CB 22 Steve Freeman football SS 21 Doug Greene SS 47 Tony Greene FS 46 Keith Moody CB 38 Jeff Nixon y FS 26 Charles Romes CB  4 Rusty Jackson P  5 Nick Mike-Mayer K -- Kevin Baker y DE IR no -- Aaron Ball LB IR no 81 Bob Chandler WR IR -- Phil Dokes DE IR 65 Ed Fulton American football G IR 88 Reuben Gant TE IR -- Mekeli Ieremia DE IR 39 Dennis Johnson fullback RB IR 42 Rod Kush y S IR 76 Fred Smerlas y NT IR -- Connie Zelencik C IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 2 Miami Dolphins L 7–9 0–1 Rich Stadium 69,441 2 September 9 Cincinnati Bengals W 51–24 1–1 Rich Stadium 43,504 3 September 16 at San Diego Chargers L 19–27 1–2 San Diego Stadium 50,709 4 September 23 New York Jets W 46–31 2–2 Rich Stadium 68,731 5 September 30 at Baltimore Colts W 31–13 3–2 Memorial Stadium 31,904 6 October 7 Chicago Bears L 0–7 3–3 Rich Stadium 73,383 7 October 14 at Miami Dolphins L 7–17 3–4 Miami Orange Bowl 45,597 8 October 21 Baltimore Colts L 13–14 3–5 Rich Stadium 50,581 9 October 28 at Detroit Lions W 20–17 4–5 Pontiac Silverdome 61,911 10 November 4 New England Patriots L 6–26 4–6 Rich Stadium 67,935 11 November 11 at New York Jets W 14–12 5–6 Shea Stadium 50,647 12 November 18 Green Bay Packers W 19–12 6–6 Rich Stadium 39,679 13 November 25 at New England Patriots W 16–13 (OT) 7–6 Schaefer Stadium 60,991 14 December 2 Denver Broncos L 16–19 7—7 Rich Stadium 37,886 15 December 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–10 7–8 Metropolitan Stadium 42,239 16 December 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–28 7–9 Three Rivers Stadium 48,002 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Season summary Week 11 Bills 0 7 0 7 Jets 0 6 0 6 November 11 Shea Stadium New York 1:00 PM EST 50,647 52 degrees, relative humidity 78%, wind 10 mph Pat Haggerty Marv Albert and Mike Haffner NBC Week 12 Packers 3 9 0 0 Bills 3 3 6 7 November 18 Rich Stadium Buffalo 1:00 PM EST 39,679 44 degrees, relative humidity 88%, wind 10 mph Jim Tunney Tim Ryan and Roman Gabriel CBS Week 13 at Patriots Buffalo Bills 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Thirteen: Buffalo Bills (6–6) at New England Patriots (8–4) November 25 1:00 p.m. EST Bills 0 3 3 7 3 Patriots 0 3 0 10 0 Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts 60,991 63 F C 1 or Box Score First quarter No scoring Second quarter NE – John Smith 47-yard field goal. Patriots 3–0. BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 29-yard field goal. Tie 3–3. Third quarter BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 26-yard field goal. Bills 6–3. Fourth quarter NE – Steve Grogan 1-yard run (John Smith kick). Patriots 10–6. NE – John Smith 32-yard field goal. Patriots 13–6. BUF – Lou Piccone 11-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Tie 13–13. Overtime BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 29-yard field goal. Bills 16–13. Top passers BUF – Joe Ferguson – 17/33, 235 yards, TD, 2 INT NE – Steve Grogan – 9/25, 160 yards, 4 INT Top rushers BUF – Curtis Brown – 15 rushes, 42 yards NE – Horace Ivory – 23 rushes, 83 yardsDon Calhoun – 20 rushes, 83 yards Top receivers BUF – Jerry Butler – 4 receptions, 95 yards NE – Harold Jackson – 4 receptions, 87 yards Notes "note" References Bills on Pro Football Reference Bills on jt-sw.com Bills Stats on jt-sw.com Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buffalo Bills Buffalo