Week 1, San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
The 1979 San Francisco 49ers scored 10 unanswered points in the second half to put away the 1979 Minnesota Vikings 19-10.The 49ers backfield led their team to victory with halfback Paul Hofer rushing 15 times for 69 yards (longest run 19 yards), fullback Wilbur Jackson carrying the ball 14 times for 50 yards (longest run 16 yards), and fullback Phil Francis (photo) rushing 8 times for 44 yards (longest run 18 yards) and 1 touchdown. Jackson tied the longest pass of the day of 26 yards with 49ers tight end Ken MacAfee. San Francisco quarterback Steve DeBerg completed 10 of 19 pass attempts for 148 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions with split end Freddie Solomon leading all receivers with 4 catches for 55 yards. Hofer caught the team’s only passing TD. San Francisco lost 2 fumbles.
For the Vikings, the backfield was held to an average of 2.8 yards per carry for a total of 17 carries for 48 yards. Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer was held to completing 13 of 25 pass attempts for 115 yards, 0 interceptions, and 1 touchdown to halfback Rickey Young. Kramer also lost a fumble. Split end Ahmad Rashad led all Vikings receivers with 6 catches for 44 yards. The Vikings sacked DeBerg once for an 8-yard loss.
In the original game played at Metropolitan Stadium on Sunday, September 2, 1979, Bud Grant’s Vikings beat Bill Walsh’s 49ers 28-22.
Week 2, Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
1979 Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Phipps wasn't often called upon to make the important play. The Bears ran the ball 37 times and Phipps only made 10 pass attempts, but with only 02:00 remaining in the game and with the score tied 17-17, Phipps completed a 14-yard pass to flanker Brian Baschnagel and a 35-yard pass to split end James Scott to put the Bears within field goal range. However, the Bears' placekicker, Bob Thomas, doesn't have the greatest leg in the league, and when he lined up for the kick with only time left for one play, the crowd at Soldier Field cringed and those with weaker constitutions shielded their eyes. On this day, however, Thomas delivered and split the uprights on a 43-yard field goal to win the game 20-17 over the 1979 Minnesota Vikings.
And while after the game Bears fans might have been chatting about Phipps' long pass to Scott, or about Thomas's field goal, or about the 2nd quarter, 51-yard punt return for a touchdown by Steve Schubert, the real star of this contest was Bears halfback Walter Payton who carried the ball 26 times for 174 yards and 1 touchdown. The jury is out about what the fans will remember most: Payton's two separate 30-yard long gains through the Vikings defense or the fumble he lost midway through the 3rd quarter. In contrast, Phipps completed 6 passes for 69 yards on the day.
On the Minnesota side, the Vikings backfield struggled to gain yards on the ground with halfback Rickey Young, fullback Chuck Foreman, fullback Ted Brown, and halfback Robert Miller combining for 58 yards on 21 rushing attempts. For his part, Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer completed 20 of 31 pass attempts for 1 touchdown and 1 interception, with split end Ahmad Rashad leading all receivers with 67 yards on 10 receptions. Foreman stood out with 40 yards receiving on 5 catches. Young did score 2 touchdowns in this game, the first late in the first half on a 9-yard pass from Kramer and the second midway through the 3rd quarter on a 20-yard run. Brown fumbled and lost the ball in the first half.
In the original game played at Soldier Field on Sunday, September 9, 1979, coach Neill Armstrong and his Bears beat Bud Grant and his Vikings 26-7.
Week 3, Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings
Down 10-7 with 12:30 remaining in the 4th quarter, on 4th and 10 at the 1979 Miami Dolphins 44-yard line, Vikings punter Greg Coleman launched the ball high into the air into the midday sun, and when it finally landed in punt returner Tony Nathan’s hands, he had already lifted his arm to shield his eyes, and the referee whistled the ball dead on a fair catch at the Miami 1-yard line. On the very next play, the Vikings defense stuffed Miami fullback Larry Csonka behind the line for a 1-yard loss and a safety, bringing the score to 10-9 in favor of Miami. That would be the last glimmer of hope for Minnesota because late in the game, after Miami placekicker Uwe von Schamann split the uprights on a 49-yard field goal attempt to raise the margin to 13-9 in favor of the Dolphins, the Miami defense forced Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer to run and he fumbled, and Miami recovered at Minnesota’s 29-yard line. Six running plays later, Dolphins backup halfback Gary Davis plunged two yards over the goal line, and Miami beat Minnesota 20-9.Both defensive teams managed back-to-back sacks at key moments in this game, and in the 2nd quarter, after the Dolphins blocked Coleman’s punt and scored on the next drive, Vikings kick returner Jimmy Edwards scampered 83 yards before being pulled down at the 9-yard line to set up Minnesota’s only offensive score, a 3-yard plunge by fullback Chuck Foreman.
The Vikings offense played terribly in this contest gaining only 104 total offensive yards. Split end Ahmad Rashad managed 51 yards receiving on 4 catches while halfback Ricky Young only gained 17 yards on 9 carries, with Kramer close behind with 16 yards on 2 runs.
For Miami, Csonka covered 81 yards on the ground while quarterback Bob Griese completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 117 yards and 0 touchdowns, with flanker Nat Moore catching 5 passes for 63 yards and split end Duriel Harris catching 6 for 51 yards. In the original game played at Metropolitan Stadium on Sunday, September 16, 1979, Don Shula’s Dolphins beat Bud Grant’s Vikings 27-12.
Week 4, Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, show up for a football game but were treated to an air show as 1979 Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer completed 22 of 38 pass attempts for 254 yards into the end zone or to move the ball into scoring position for the running attack as the Vikings beat the 1979 Green Bay Packers 35-17.Kramer threw 2 touchdown passes, the first a 19-yard pass to fullback Chuck Foreman and the second a 40-yard stunner to split end Ahmad Rashad. Kramer's efforts also allowed fullback Ted Brown to score 2 touchdowns and halfback Rickey Young to score 1 touchdown on the ground.
Rashad caught 9 passes on the day for 159 yards, including long passes of 55 and 40 yards. The Vikings used a pass-first offensive attack while the backfield gained 60 yards on 17 carries, not including Kramer's own 20-yard scramble. The Vikings defense recorded 2 sacks on the day.
For the Packers, starting quarterback David Whitehurst completed 11 of 23 pass attempts for 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, with split end James Lofton catching 5 passes for 112 yards and tight end Paul Coffman covering 95 yards on 6 receptions. The Packers backfield of Barty Smith, Terdell Middleton, and Nate Simpson reached 73 yards on 23 carries. Green Bay lost the field position battle with Packers punter David Beverly twice shanking punts for only 19 yards apiece.
In the original game played at Metropolitan Stadium on Sunday, September 23, 1979, Bud Grant's Vikings beat Bart Starr's Packers 27-21 in overtime.
