The 1979 San Diego Chargers marked the beginning of a new period of success in franchise history, with their high-powered passing attack nicknamed “Air Coryell, named after head coach Don Coryell. But the season also had a bitter ending, something the franchise has become all-to-familiar with in the Super Bowl era.
The 1979 Philadelphia Eagles were coming off the franchise’s first playoff berth of the Super Bowl era. Head coach Dick Vermeil, now in his fourth year, continued the progress in ’79 as the Eagles won more games, made it back to the postseason and this time advanced. Philadelphia was a fairly well-balanced team on both […]
The 1979 Chicago Bears were in the second year of the coaching regime of Neill Armstrong. After a playoff trip in 1977, the Bears had lost Jack Pardee to the Washington Redskins. Armstrong, the defensive coordinator for a Super Bowl team in Minnesota, got the job and slipped to 7-9 in his first season in […]
The Denver Broncos made the Super Bowl in 1977. They won an AFC West title in 1978. The 1979 Denver Broncos again made the playoffs, but a late slump to a wild-card and a quick exit continued the progressive decline and pointed to tougher days on the horizon. Head coach Red Miller had built this […]
The 1979 New England Patriots entered the season off a three-year stretch that had been successful and controversial all in one. The Patriots had enjoyed three straight winning seasons, made the playoffs twice and won an AFC East title in 1978. In the days before Belichick and Brady came to Foxboro, this qualified as a […]
Bob Griese enjoyed a Hall of Fame career as the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins, leading them to three Super Bowls and winning two, including the undefeated season of 1972. Officially, he played through 1980. But the 1979 Miami Dolphins were his final year as the regular starter and his last trip into the playoffs.
It was 1976 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into existence and their first three years were less than stellar. The Bucs went 0-14 their first year, 2-12 in ’77 and then up to 5-11 in 1978 when the schedule expanded to sixteen games. Steady improvement, but no indicator of what the 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were about to do, which is make a run to the first division title in franchise history.
The Houston Oilers reached the AFC Championship Game for the first time in the Super Bowl era in 1978. The Pittsburgh Steelers were all that stood in their way. The 1979 Houston Oilers saw the same ending, but they seemed to be an inching just a little bit closer to the ultimate goal.
Roger Staubach came to the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 after winning a Heisman Trophy at Navy and then serving five years of a military commitment. Staubach led the Cowboys to four Super Bowls and won two of them. The 1979 Dallas Cowboys were the last season in this storybook career.
The Los Angeles Rams had been a playoff team in the NFC every year since 1973, including making the conference championship game in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1978. But none of those teams took the next step to the Super Bowl. Oddly enough, the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, a team much worse than their predecessors, were the ones who found a way to win in January.
The great fan base of the Washington Redskins had endured some heartache in both 1977 and 1978. Each season saw the Redskins miss the playoffs on the final week of the season, in the latter case after giving away a 6-0 start to the year. What the fans couldn’t have guessed, nor would they have wanted to, was that the 1979 Washington Redskins would lift the season-ending anguish to a new level.