NFL team season
The 1979 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League . The team improved on their 8–8 record from 1978 and finishing 10–6. Although the Redskins were able to improve their record, they were eliminated from playoff contention on the final week of the season after facing the Dallas Cowboys with the NFC East title on the line. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach led a last-minute comeback to defeat Washington 35–34 to win the division, which combined with the Chicago Bears defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 42–6, resulted in the Redskins losing a points tiebreaker for the final wild-card slot.
Offseason
NFL draft
[ 1]
Personnel
Staff
1979 Washington Redskins staff
Front office
Head coaches
Head Coach – Jack Pardee
Special Assistant to Head Coach – Bob Bowser
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Special Teams – John Hilton
[ 2]
Roster
1979 Washington Redskins roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
[ 3]
Preseason
Regular season
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Game site
Attendance
Recap
1
September 2
Houston Oilers
L 27–29
0–1
RFK Stadium
54,582
Recap
2
September 9
at Detroit Lions
W 27–24
1–1
Pontiac Silverdome
54,991
Recap
3
New York Giants
W 27–0
2–1
RFK Stadium
54,672
Recap
4
September 23
at St. Louis Cardinals
W 17–7
3–1
Busch Memorial Stadium
50,680
Recap
5
September 30
at Atlanta Falcons
W 16–7
4–1
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
56,819
Recap
6
October 7
at Philadelphia Eagles
L 17–28
4–2
Veterans Stadium
69,142
Recap
7
October 14
at Cleveland Browns
W 13–9
5–2
Cleveland Stadium
63,323
Recap
8
October 21
Philadelphia Eagles
W 17–7
6–2
RFK Stadium
54,442
Recap
9
October 28
New Orleans Saints
L 10–14
6–3
RFK Stadium
52,133
Recap
10
November 4
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 7–38
6–4
Three Rivers Stadium
49,462
Recap
11
November 11
St. Louis Cardinals
W 30–28
7–4
RFK Stadium
50,868
Recap
12
November 18
Dallas Cowboys
W 34–20
8–4
RFK Stadium
55,031
Recap
13
November 25
at New York Giants
L 6–14
8–5
Giants Stadium
72,641
Recap
14
December 2
Green Bay Packers
W 38–21
9–5
RFK Stadium
51,682
Recap
15
December 9
Cincinnati Bengals
W 28–14
10–5
RFK Stadium
52,882
Recap
16
December 16
at Dallas Cowboys
L 34–35
10–6
Texas Stadium
62,867
Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
[ 4]
Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 2: at Detroit Lions
Week 3: vs. New York Giants
Week 4: at St. Louis Cardinals
Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 7: at Cleveland Browns
Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Eagles
0
0
0 7 7
Redskins
0
7
7 3 17
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 9: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 9: New Orleans Saints at Washington Redskins
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Saints
7
7
0 0 14
Redskins
3
7
0 0 10
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 11: vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Week 11: St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Redskins
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Cardinals
7
0
0 21 28
Redskins
7
10
3 10 30
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 12: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 12: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Cowboys
0
3
3 14 20
Redskins
7
7
10 10 34
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 13: at New York Giants
Week 14: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 14: Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Packers
0
21
0 0 21
Redskins
7
0
7 24 38
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
This would prove the last time the Green Bay Packers would ever play at RFK Stadium before its closure in 1997: in fact, the Packers would not play an away game against the Redskins again until 2004 .[ 5] This occurred because between 1978 and the admission of the Texans in 2002 , non-division conference matchups had no rotation but were entirely based upon previous season’s standings.
Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 15: Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Redskins
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Bengals
14
0
0 0 14
Redskins
7
14
0 7 28
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 16: at Dallas Cowboys
The loss knocked the Redskins out of the playoffs.
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Redskins
Passing
Joe Theismann
12/23, 200 Yds, TD
Rushing
John Riggins
22 Rush, 151 Yds, 2 TD
Receiving
Benny Malone
1 Rec, 55 Yds, TD
Cowboys
Passing
Roger Staubach
24/42, 326 Yds, 3 TD, INT
Rushing
Ron Springs
20 Rush, 79 Yds, TD
Receiving
Tony Hill
8 Rec, 113 Yds, TD
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
WAS
DAL
1
Redskins
24-yard field goal by Mark Moseley
3
0
1
Redskins
Joe Theismann 1-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good
10
0
2
Redskins
Benny Malone 55-yard touchdown reception from Joe Theismann, Mark Moseley kick good
17
0
2
Cowboys
Ron Springs 1-yard touchdown run, Rafael Septien kick good
17
7
2
Cowboys
Preston Pearson 26-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach , Rafael Septien kick good
17
14
3
Cowboys
Robert Newhouse 2-yard touchdown run, Rafael Septien kick good
17
21
4
Redskins
24-yard field goal by Mark Moseley
20
21
4
Redskins
John Riggins 1-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good
27
21
4
6:54
Redskins
John Riggins 66-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good
34
21
4
Cowboys
Ron Springs 26-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Rafael Septien kick good
34
28
4
0:39
Cowboys
Tony Hill 8-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Rafael Septien kick good
34
35
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
34
35
Standings
References
External links
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
Based in Landover, Maryland
Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise Stadiums Key personnel Culture Rivalries Division championships (15) Conference championships (5) League championships (2) Super Bowl championships (3) Hall of Famers Affiliations
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)