1979 Philadelphia Eagles season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 11–5 2nd NFC East Dick Vermeil Jim Murray Leonard Tose Veterans Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Bears) 27–17Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Buccaneers) 17–24 Eagles seasons thumb|right|The Eagles playing against the Buccaneers in the 1979 NFC Divisional Playoff Game. The 1979 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League (NFL). They appeared in the postseason for the second consecutive year, an attainment that the team had not achieved for three decades. They would make the playoffs again in the following two seasons before a six-year drought. The Eagles managed to host and win their first playoff game since 1960. They would ultimately fall in the divisional round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 24–17. Offseason After going 9–7 in the 1978 season and making the playoffs, the Eagles found themselves having to follow rule 3 of the draft – "Teams that made the playoffs are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated" – meaning four teams with a record the same or better than the Eagles would pick in front of them. NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979 in New York City. As was started with the 1977 NFL draft, this was 12 rounds. The Philadelphia Eagles got the 19th to the 21st picks in the 12 rounds. They had overcome the traded-away draft picks of the Mike McCormack era. The Eagles had waited but they finally had a first-round pick and other low-round draft picks. They would use these and build a team as 7 of the 10 draft picks made the team for the coming years. The draft began with first overall pick of Tom Cousineau, linebacker from Ohio State, by the Buffalo Bills. With the number 7 pick the New York Giants selected Phil Simms, a quarterback from Morehead State. The crowd, made up of mostly New York fans, voiced their displeasure of his selection. Player selections The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another trade the Eagles made. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away. = Pro Bowler Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.= Hall of Famer Round Pick Player Position School 1 21 Jerry Robinson LB UCLA 2 48 Petey Perot G Northwestern State University 3 74 Tony Franklin Kicker Texas A & M 4 94 Ben Cowins RB Arkansas 5 126 Scott Fitzkee TE Penn State 6 158 Pick Traded to New York Giants 7 178 Don Swafford OT Florida 7 185 Curtis Bunche DT Albany State 8 196 Chuck Correal C Penn State 8 211 Max Runager Punter South Carolina 9 Pick Traded to 10 Pick Traded to 11 296 Al Chesley LB Pittsburgh 12 Pick Traded to Personnel Staff / Coaches 1979 Philadelphia Eagles Owner – Leonard Tose General manager – Jim Murray Head coach – Dick Vermeil Quarterbacks / Quality Control – Sid Gillman Running Backs – Billy Joe Receivers – Dick Coury Tight Ends – Lynn Stiles Offensive Line – Ken Iman Offensive Line – Jerry Wampfler Defensive Coordinator – Marion Campbell Defensive Line – Chuck Clausen Linebackers – George Hill Defensive Backs / Secondary – Fred Bruney Special Teams – Lynn Stiles, Ken Iman Roster 1979 Philadelphia Eagles  7 Ron Jaworski 10 John Walton American football 38 Larry Barnes running back 37 Billy Campfield 33 Louie Giammona 20 Leroy Harris running back 31 Wilbert Montgomery 17 Harold Carmichael 81 Scott Fitzkee y 89 Wally Henry 82 Jerrold McRae 85 Charlie Smith wide receiver 84 Keith Krepfle 88 John Spagnola y 72 Wade Key G 79 Rufus Mayes T 50 Guy Morriss C 69 Woody Peoples G 62 Petey Perot y G 76 Jerry Sisemore T 61 Mark Slater American football C 75 Stan Walters T 67 Lem Burnham DE 71 Ken Clarke American football NT 78 Carl Hairston DE 68 Dennis Harrison DE 87 Claude Humphrey DE 65 Charlie Johnson defensive tackle NT 79 Manny Sistrunk DE 95 John Bunting American football OLB 59 Al Chesley y ILB 55 Frank LeMaster ILB 52 Ray Phillips American football OLB 56 Jerry Robinson linebacker y ILB 58 Terry Tautolo ILB 51 Reggie Wilkes OLB 27 Richard Blackmore American football y CB 46 Herm Edwards CB 23 Bob Howard American football CB 41 Randy Logan SS 24 Henry Monroe y CB 26 Deac Sanders FS 21 John Sciarra FS  1 Tony Franklin kicker y K  4 Max Runager y P 66 Bill Bergey LB IR 96 Curtis Bunche y DE IR 73 Steve Kenney y T IR 29 Al Latimer y CB IR 97 Mike Siegel tight end y TE IR 22 Brenard Wilson y S IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 2, 1979 New York Giants W 23–17 1–0 67,366 2 September 10, 1979 Atlanta Falcons L 14–10 1–1 66,935 3 September 16, 1979 at New Orleans Saints W 26–14 2–1 54,212 4 September 23, 1979 at New York Giants W 17–13 3–1 74,265 5 September 30, 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–14 4–1 70,352 6 October 7, 1979 Washington Redskins W 28–17 5–1 69,142 7 October 14, 1979 at St. Louis Cardinals W 24–20 6–1 48,367 8 October 21, 1979 at Washington Redskins L 17–7 6–2 54,442 9 October 28, 1979 at Cincinnati Bengals L 37–13 6–3 42,036 10 November 4, 1979 Cleveland Browns L 24–19 6–4 69,019 11 November 12, 1979 at Dallas Cowboys W 31–21 7–4 62,417 12 November 18, 1979 St. Louis Cardinals W 16–13 8–4 70,235 13 November 25, 1979 at Green Bay Packers W 21–10 9–4 50,023 14 December 2, 1979 Detroit Lions W 44–7 10–4 66,128 15 December 8, 1979 Dallas Cowboys L 24–17 10–5 71,434 16 December 16, 1979 at Houston Oilers W 26–20 11–5 49,407 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries 1979 Philadelphia Eagles Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1979.htm 2026-08-27 Pro-Football-Reference.com en Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 5: Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles September 30, 1979 1:00 p.m. Steelers 0 7 0 7 Eagles 0 7 10 0 Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 70,352 Cal Lepore NBC Charlie Jones and Len Dawson Pro-Football-Reference.com Steelers Terry Bradshaw12/26, 176 Yds, TD, 2 INT Sidney Thornton16 Rush, 88 Yds, TD John Stallworth5 Rec, 102 Yds, TD Eagles Ron Jaworski11/20, 158 Yds, 2 INT Wilbert Montgomery28 Rush, 98 Yds, TD Keith Krepfle4 Rec, 95 Yds PIT PHI collapsed 2 Steelers RushTD Thornton 7 good Bahr run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 0 2 Eagles RushTD Harris 1 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 7 3 Eagles FG 48 Franklin 7 10 3 Eagles RushTD Montgomery 1 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 17 4 Steelers RecTD Stallworth Bradshaw 37 good Bahr run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 17 14 17 Week 6 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 6: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles October 7, 1979 1:00 p.m. Redskins 0 7 0 10 Eagles 7 7 14 0 Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 69,142 CBS Gary Bender and Sonny Jurgensen Pro-Football-Reference.com Redskins Joe Theismann19/32, 165 Yds, TD, INT John Riggins23 Rush, 115 Yds, TD Johnnie McDaniel4 Rec, 35 Tds Eagles Ron Jaworski8/12, 143 Yds, TD Wilbert Montgomery22 Rush, 127 Yds, 3 TD Keith Krepfle3 Rec, 79 Yds WSH PHI collapsed 1 Eagles RushTD Montgomery 8 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 2 Eagles RecTD Montgomery Jaworski 11 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 14 3 Eagles RushTD Montgomery 5 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 21 3 Eagles RushTD Montgomery 4 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 28 4 Redskins FG 37 Moseley 10 28 4 Redskins RushTD Riggins 1 good Moseley run/pass good/failed/incomplete 17 28 17 28 Week 7 Week 8 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins October 21, 1979 1:00 p.m. Eagles 0 0 0 7 Redskins 0 7 7 3 RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C. 54,442 CBS Vin Scully and George Allen Pro-Football-Reference.com Eagles Ron Jaworski12/27, 192 Yds, TD, 2 INT Wilbert Montgomery11 Rush, 33 Yds Keith Krepfle4 Rec, 81 Yds Redskins Joe Theismann15/24, 136 Yds, 2 INT John Riggins19 Rush, 120 Yds Clarence Harmon3 Rec, 33 Yds PHI WSH collapsed 2 Redskins RushTD Malone 10 good Moseley run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 3 Redskins RushTD Theismann 1 good Moseley run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 14 4 Redskins FG 23 Moseley 0 17 4 Eagles RecTD Krepfle Jaworski 40 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 17 7 17 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 11: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys November 12, 1979 9:00 p.m. Eagles 7 10 7 7 Cowboys 7 0 0 14 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 62,417 Gene Barth ABC Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith Pro-Football-Reference.com Eagles Ron Jaworski12/29, 145 Yds, 2 TD Wilbert Montgomery25 Rush, 127 Yds, TD Harold Carmichael4 Rec, 69 Yds Cowboys Roger Staubach17/28, 308 Yds, 3 TD Tony Dorsett13 Rush, 53 Yds Tony Hill7 Rec, 213 Yds, 2 TD PHI DAL collapsed 1 Cowboys RecTD Hill Staubach 48 good Septien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 1 Eagles RecTD Carmichael Jaworski 32 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 7 2 Eagles RecTD Smith Walton 29 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 7 2 Eagles FG 59 Franklin 17 7 3 Eagles RecTD Carmichael Jaworski 13 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 24 7 4 Cowboys RecTD Hill Staubach 75 good Septien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 24 14 4 Cowboys RecTD DuPree Staubach 5 good Septien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 24 21 4 Eagles RushTD Montgomery 37 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 31 21 31 21 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 15: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles December 8, 1979 12:30 p.m. Cowboys 10 0 7 7 Eagles 3 7 0 7 Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 71,434 Jim Tunney CBS Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier, Frank Glieber and Irv Cross Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Roger Staubach11/21, 105 Yds, TD Robert Newhouse12 Rush, 68 Yds, TD Tony Hill3 Rec, 33 Yds Eagles Ron Jaworski13/36, 216 Yds, TD, INT Wilbert Montgomery23 Rush, 65 Yds, TD Wilbert Montgomery4 Rec, 93 Yds, TD DAL PHI collapsed 1 Cowboys RushTD Laidlaw 1 good Septien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 0 1 Eagles FG 27 Franklin 7 3 1 Cowboys FG 40 Septien 10 3 2 Eagles RecTD Montgomery Jaworski 14 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 10 10 3 Cowboys RushTD Newhouse 17 good Septien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 17 10 4 Cowboys RecTD Johnson Staubach 17 good Septien run/pass good/failed/incomplete 24 10 4 Eagles RushTD Montgomery 1 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 24 17 24 17 Week 16 Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 16: Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Oilers December 16, 1979 4:00 p.m. Eagles 9 3 7 7 Oilers 0 10 0 10 Astrodome • Houston, Texas 49,407 CBS Gary Bender and Sonny Jurgensen Pro-Football-Reference.com Eagles Ron Jaworski12/21, 163 Yds Billy Campfield7 Rush, 68 Yds Wilbert Montgomery5 Rec, 51 Yds Oilers Dan Pastorini7/14, 85 Yds, TD, 2 INT Earl Campbell16 Rush, 134 Yds, TD Mike Renfro3 Rec, 67 Yds, TD PHI HOU collapsed 1 Eagles RushTD Jaworski 4 no good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 0 1 Eagles FG 22 Franklin 9 0 2 Oilers RushTD Campbell 6 good Fritsch run/pass good/failed/incomplete 9 7 2 Eagles FG 41 Franklin 12 7 2 Oilers FG 44 Fritsch 12 10 3 Eagles RushTD Harris 1 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 19 10 4 Oilers RecTD Renfro Pastorini 7 good Fritsch run/pass good/failed/incomplete 19 17 4 Eagles RecTD Fitzkee Walton 4 good Franklin run/pass good/failed/incomplete 26 17 4 Oilers FG 37 Fritsch 26 20 26 20 Standings Postseason 1979–80 NFL playoffs Schedule Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card December 23, 1979 Chicago Bears (5) W 27–17 1–0 Veterans Stadium Recap Divisional December 29, 1979 F j, Y at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2) L 17–24 1–1 Tampa Stadium Recap Game summaries NFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (5) Chicago Bears text-align:center; Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2 NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (5) Chicago Bears at (4) Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary December 23, 1979 Bears 7 10 0 0 Eagles 7 3 7 10 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia 12:30 p.m. EST CBS Vin Scully and George Allen 69,397 Red Cashion First quarter PHI – Harold Carmichael 17-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick). Eagles 7–0. CHI – Walter Payton 2-yard run (Bob Thomas kick). Tied 7–7. Second quarter PHI – Tony Franklin 29-yard field goal. Eagles 10–7. CHI – Walter Payton 1-yard run (Bob Thomas kick). Bears 14–10. CHI – Bob Thomas 30-yard field goal. Bears 17–10. Third quarter PHI – Harold Carmichael 29-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick). Tied 17–17. Fourth quarter PHI – Billy Campfield 63-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick). Eagles 24–17. PHI – Tony Franklin 34-yard field goal. Eagles 27–17. Top passers CHI – Mike Phipps – 13/30, 142 yards, 2 INT PHI – Ron Jaworski – 12/23, 204 yards, 3 TD, INT Top rushers CHI – Walter Payton – 16 rushes, 67 yards, 2 TD PHI – Wilbert Montgomery – 26 rushes, 87 yards Top receivers CHI – Walter Payton – 3 receptions, 52 yards PHI – Harold Carmichael – 6 receptions, 111 yards, 2 TD NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers text-align:center; Philadelphia Eagles 1979 2 NFC Divisional Playoffs: (4) Philadelphia Eagles at (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary December 29, 1979 F j, Y Eagles 0 7 3 7 Buccaneers 7 10 0 7 Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida 12:30 p.m. EST 73 °F °C, scattered clouds CBS Curt Gowdy and Hank Stram 71,402 Fred Silva First quarter TB – Ricky Bell 4-yard run (Neil O'Donoghue kick). Buccaneers 7–0. Second quarter TB – Neil O'Donoghue 40-yard field goal. Buccaneers 10–0. TB – Ricky Bell 1-yard run (Neil O'Donoghue kick). Buccaneers 17–0. PHI – Charlie Smith 11-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick). Buccaneers 17–7. Third quarter PHI – Tony Franklin 42-yard field goal. Buccaneers 17–10. Fourth quarter TB – Jimmie Giles 9-yard pass from Doug Williams (Neil O'Donoghue kick). Buccaneers 24–10. PHI – Harold Carmichael 37-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick). Buccaneers 24–17. Top passers PHI – Ron Jaworski – 15/39, 199 yards, 2 TD TB – Doug Williams – 7/15, 132 yards, TD, INT Top rushers PHI – Wilbert Montgomery – 13 rushes, 35 yards TB – Ricky Bell – 38 rushes, 142 yards, 2 TD Top receivers PHI – Harold Carmichael – 3 receptions, 92 yards, TD TB – Jimmie Giles – 3 receptions, 43 yards, TD References Eagles on Pro Football Reference Eagles on jt-sw.com Eagles on Eagles.net Category:Philadelphia Eagles seasons Philadelphia Eagles Philadel Category:1979 in Philadelphia