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. While the Redskins were able to improve their record, however, they were eliminated from playoff contention on the final week of the season when 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.
The Redskins hosted the Packers in Week 14. It was Washington's penultimate game at RFK in 1979. As they left RFK 17 years later and moved to a new stadium in Landover , it was also the two teams' final meeting at Washington for 25 years .
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
Game 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 1: Houston Oilers at Washington Redskins
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Oilers
6
0
7 16 29
Redskins
0
17
7 3 27
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
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
Quarter
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
Quarter
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
Quarter
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
Quarter
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
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Packers
0
21
0 0 21
Redskins
7
0
7 24 38
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 15: Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Redskins
Quarter
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
Week 16: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Redskins
10
7
0 17 34
Cowboys
0
14
7 14 35
at Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
WSH
DAL
1
Redskins
24-yard field goal by Moseley
3
0
1
Redskins
Theismann 1-yard touchdown run, Moseley kick good
10
0
2
Redskins
Malone 55-yard touchdown reception from Theismann , Moseley kick good
17
0
2
Cowboys
Springs 1-yard touchdown run, Septién kick good
17
7
2
Cowboys
Pearson 26-yard touchdown reception from Staubach , Septién kick good
17
14
3
Cowboys
Newhouse 2-yard touchdown run, Septién kick good
17
21
3
Redskins
24-yard field goal by Moseley
20
21
4
Redskins
Riggins 1-yard touchdown run, Moseley kick good
27
21
4
Redskins
Riggins 66-yard touchdown run, Moseley kick good
34
21
4
Cowboys
Springs 26-yard touchdown reception from Staubach , Septién kick good
34
28
4
Cowboys
Hill 8-yard touchdown reception from Staubach , Septién 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 and lore 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)