The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League. The team improved on their 8–8 record from 1978, 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.
The Redskins adopted new uniforms this season, retiring the gold pants in favor of separate burgundy and white pants to be worn with the white and burgundy jerseys, respectively. Smaller changes were made to the jerseys and socks as well. This uniform set would be worn for all three of the franchise's Super Bowl victories to date and were relatively unchanged until the team changed its name for the 2020 season.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeWillie BanksLinebackerPenn StateWillie BlasherlinebackerOregonCharley BloxsomGuardMiami (FL)James Willie BrownTackleLouisvilleAntonio CastleWide receiverEastern New MexicoRonnie CullinsCornerbackColoradoDarryl DrakeWide receiverWestern KentuckyPhil DuBoisTight EndSan Diego StateRicky DunawaySafetyTulaneKeith EllisWide receiverNew MexicoTony HernandezDefensive backBYUNeal OlkewiczLinebackerMarylandLouis Orlando IIICenterYalePedro PosadasKickerLouisvilleJonathan SuttonSafetyNew MexicoRay WaddyCornerbackTexas A&IJimmy Jaye WellsCenterWisconsin–SuperiorDale WhiteDefensive tackleArkansasAnthony YoungSafetyJackson State
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Attendance 1 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 9–7 1–0 Tampa Stadium 64,493 2 at Denver Broncos L 6–13 1–1 Mile High Stadium 58,799 3 at Atlanta Falcons W 16–6 2–1 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 52,478 4 Cleveland Browns L 9–21 2–2 RFK Stadium 40,039
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
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 9: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 11: vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Week 12: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 13: at New York Giants
Week 14: vs. Green Bay Packers
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. This occurred because between and the admission of the Texans in , non-division conference matchups had no rotation but were entirely based upon previous season’s standings.
Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 16: at Dallas Cowboys
The loss knocked the Redskins out of the playoffs.
Standings
References
External links 1979 Washington Redskins at Pro-Football-Reference.com