1979 Buffalo Bills season

1979 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	G Joe DeLamielleure
All-Pros	G Joe DeLamielleure (1st team)
←  1978 Bills seasons 1980  →

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 dead-last in rushing yards in the NFL, with only total 1,621 yards on the ground. ^[1] Buffalo's 268 points scored was 23rd of the league's 28 teams. ^[2]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 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 draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Tom Cousineau	Linebacker	Ohio State
1	5	Jerry Butler  *	Wide receiver	Clemson
2	32	Fred Smerlas  *	Defensive tackle	Boston College
2	51	Jim Haslett  *	Linebacker	Indiana (PA)
3	62	Jon Borchardt	Guard	Montana State
4	83	Ken Johnson	Defensive end	Knoxville
4	87	Jeff Nixon	Safety	Richmond
5	114	Rod Kush	Safety	Nebraska-Omaha
5	116	Dan Manucci	Quarterback	Kansas State
6	141	Mike Burrow	Guard	Auburn
7	170	Tom Mullady	Tight end	Rhodes
9	226	Kevin Baker	Defensive end	William Penn
10	253	Dave Marler	Quarterback	Mississippi State
11	279	Paul Lawler	Defensive back	Colgate
12	308	Mike Harris	Running back	Arizona State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Tom Cousineau

Main article: 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, ^[3] 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 note

Player	Position	College
Orlando Alvarez	Wide receiver	Montclair State
Rod Broadway	Defensive Tackle	North Carolina
Derrick Burnett	Running back	Indiana
Robert Cameron	Punter	Acadia
Jerome Carter	Cornerback	Delaware State
Donald Clayton	Punter	Wyoming
Bill Crowley	Linebacker	Yale
Leroy McGee	Running back	Michigan State
Russell Pope	Cornerback	Purdue
Ronald Ricks	Cornerback	Kansas

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 roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Joe Ferguson 11 Dan Manucci  9 Bill Munson Running backs (RB) 47 Curtis Brown FB 35 Mike Collier 25 Roland Hooks 40 Terry Miller 23 Steve Powell Wide receivers (WR) 80 Jerry Butler 84 Danny Fulton 82 Frank Lewis 89 Lou Piccone 86 Leonard Willis Tight ends (TE) 88 Reuben Gant 85 Ron Howard 87 Joe Shipp

Offensive linemen (OL) 73 Jon Borchardt T 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Joe Devlin T 65 Ed Fulton G 53 Will Grant C 72 Ken Jones T 67 Reggie McKenzie G 61 Willie Parker C 65 Tim Vogler G Defensive linemen (DL) 74 Dee Hardison DT 90 Scott Hutchinson DE 71 Mike Kadish DT 91 Ken Johnson DE 76 Fred Smerlas DT 83 Sherman White DE 77 Ben Williams DE

Linebackers (LB) 55 Jim Haslett 54 Tom Higgins 52 Chris Keating 51 Dan Jilek 59 Shane Nelson 58 Isiah Robertson 57 Lucius Sanford Defensive backs (DB) 29 Mario Clark CB 22 Steve Freeman FS 21 Doug Greene SS 47 Tony Greene SS 46 Keith Moody CB 38 Jeff Nixon FS 26 Charles Romes CB Special teams  4 Rusty Jackson P  5 Nick Mike-Mayer K

Reserve --Kevin BakerDE (IR) -- Aaron Ball LB (IR) 81 Bob Chandler WR (IR) 85 Phil Dokes DT (IR) -- Mekeli Ieremia DT (IR) 42 Rod Kush SS (IR) -- Connie Zelencik C (IR) Rookies in italics

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

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins (3)	10	6	0	.625	5–3	6–6	341	257	L1
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	4–4	6–6	411	326	W1
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	4–4	5–7	337	383	W3
Buffalo Bills	7	9	0	.438	4–4	5–7	268	279	L3
Baltimore Colts	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–10	271	351	W1

Season summary

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Jets 0 6 0 6 12 Date: November 11 Location: Shea Stadium New York Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 50,647 Game weather: 52 degrees, relative humidity 78%, wind 10 mph Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Mike Haffner

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 3 9 0 0 12 • Bills 3 3 6 7 19 Date: November 18 Location: Rich Stadium Buffalo Game start: 1:00 PM EST Game attendance: 39,679 Game weather: 44 degrees, relative humidity 88%, wind 10 mph Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Roman Gabriel

Week 13 at Patriots

Week Thirteen: Buffalo Bills (6–6) at New England Patriots (8–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bills	0	3	3	7	3	16
Patriots	0	3	0	10	0	13

at Schaefer Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

• Date: November 25
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 63 °F or 17.2 °C
• Game attendance: 60,991
• Box Score

Game information

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 yards Don Calhoun – 20 rushes, 83 yards Top receivers BUF – Jerry Butler – 4 receptions, 95 yards NE – Harold Jackson – 4 receptions, 87 yards

References

1. 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.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1979 Buffalo Bills
3. Sports People; Browns Get Cousineau from the New York Times archives, retrieved March 8, 2006

• Bills on Pro Football Reference
• Bills on jt-sw.com
• Bills Stats on jt-sw.com