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In
1979, the Pro Bowl returned
to the Los Angeles Coliseum
for the final time in a
Monday night game. The game
was played before a
disappointing crowd of
38,333. The coaches were Ray
Malavasi of the Rams and Bum
Phillips of the Oilers. The
game was played following
the longest NFL season to
that point. The players had
been through four preseason
games, 16 regular season
games and three weeks of
playoffs since July 29. Most
of the players that week
talked of exhaustion and a
need for time off.
There was no scoring in the
first quarter. The National
Conference took a 6-0 lead
with 7:06 to play in the
second quarter when Archie
Manning of the Saints
engineered an 11 play, 70
yard drive and
Philadelphia’s Wilbert
Montgomery carried it in on
fourth and goal from the
one. The point after was
missed. The AFC immediately
retaliated, moving 62 yards
in nine plays. The touchdown
came on an 8 yard pass from
Miami’s Bob Griese to
Seattle’s Steve Largent.
Both Largent and Manning
were playing in their first
Pro Bowl and were their
respective teams’ first
representative since the
merger.
Following a 16 yard punt by
Oakland’s Ray Guy and with
3:43 remaining in the third
quarter, Cowboy’s
quarterback, Roger Staubach
hit his Dallas teammate,
Tony Hill, with a 19 yard
touchdown pass. The drive
covered 45 yards in five
plays. Neither team scored
in the fourth quarter. The
final score was 13-7. Both
Largent and Ahmad Rashad of
Minnesota had 5 receptions.
Rookie Earl Campbell of
Houston led all rushers with
66 yards on 12 carries.
The victory marked the
fourth NFC win in five
years. Rashad was voted the
game’s MVP. Although
everyone was glad to see the
season come to a conclusion,
Rashad said of the Pro Bowl,
“Egos get involved, your
pride kind of takes over.
The best kind of comes
out….Once the game starts,
you want to play your best
football and win.”
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