1979 San Diego Chargers (NFL) |
| 1st place • American Football Conference • Western Division • 12-4-0 .750 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Don Coryell |
| Earnel Durden | Offensive Backs |
| Joe Gibbs | Offensive Coordinator |
| Jim Hanifan | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line |
| Wayne Sevier | Special Teams |
| Jacki Simpson | Defensive Coordinator |
| Larrye Weaver | Defensive Backs |
| Ernie Zampese | Receivers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/4/1979 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 10-13 | L | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 32275 | |
| Sat | 8/11/1979 | H | Minnesota Vikings | 19-0 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 49037 | |
| Sat | 8/18/1979 | A | New York Giants | 7-3 | W | East Rutherford, NJ | Giants Stadium | 22341 | |
| Sat | 8/25/1979 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 7-23 | L | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 50089 | |
| Sun | 9/2/1979 | A | Seattle Seahawks | 33-16 | W | Seattle, WA | Kingdome | 62287 | |
| Sun | 9/9/1979 | H | Oakland Raiders | 30-10 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50255 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1979 | H | Buffalo Bills | 27-19 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50709 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1979 | A | New England Patriots | 21-27 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 60916 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1979 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 31-9 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50893 | |
| Sun | 10/7/1979 | A | Denver Broncos | 0-7 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74997 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1979 | H | Seattle Seahawks | 20-10 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50007 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1979 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 40-16 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 64245 | |
| Thu | 10/25/1979 | A | Oakland Raiders | 22-45 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 53709 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1979 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 20-14 | W | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 59353 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1979 | A | Cincinnati Bengals | 26-24 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 40782 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1979 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 35-7 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 52426 | |
| Sun | 11/25/1979 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 28-7 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50078 | |
| Sun | 12/2/1979 | H | Atlanta Falcons | 26-28 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 50198 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1979 | A | New Orleans Saints | 35-0 | W | New Orleans, LA | Louisiana Superdome | 61059 | |
| Mon | 12/17/1979 | H | Denver Broncos | 17-7 | W | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 51906 | |
| AFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sat | 12/29/1979 | H | Houston Oilers | 14-17 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 51192 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Dan Audick | 60 | LOG | 6-3 | 250 | 25 | Hawaii | 16 | 4 |
| Hank Bauer | 37 | RB | 5-10 | 200 | 25 | California Lutheran | 16 | 0 |
| Rolf Benirschke | 6 | K | 6-0 | 165 | 24 | UC Davis | 4 | 0 |
| Willie Buchanon | 28 | LCB | 6-0 | 189 | 29 | MiraCosta JC; San Diego State | 16 | 16 |
| Larry Burton | 87 | WR | 6-1 | 193 | 28 | Purdue | 12 | 0 |
| Fred Dean | 71 | RDE | 6-2 | 230 | 27 | Louisiana Tech | 13 | 12 |
| Charles DeJurnett | 73 | RDE-LDE-RDT | 6-4 | 265 | 27 | West Los Angeles JC; San Jose State | 12 | 4 |
| Jerome Dove | 48 | CB | 6-1 | 190 | 26 | Hutchinson CC; Colorado State | 16 | 0 |
| Frank Duncan | 47 | S | 6-1 | 188 | 23 | San Mateo JC; San Francisco State | 4 | 0 |
| Glen Edwards | 27 | FS | 6-0 | 185 | 32 | Florida A&M | 15 | 13 |
| John Floyd | 86 | WR | 6-1 | 195 | 23 | Louisiana-Monroe | 8 | 2 |
| Dan Fouts | 14 | QB | 6-3 | 210 | 28 | Oregon | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Fuller | 42 | SS | 5-9 | 182 | 26 | Auburn | 16 | 16 |
| Roy Gerela | 9 | K | 5-10 | 185 | 31 | New Mexico State | 3 | 0 |
| Don Goode | 50 | LLB | 6-2 | 240 | 28 | Kansas | 12 | 1 |
| James Harris | 12 | QB | 6-3 | 221 | 32 | Grambling State | 8 | 0 |
| Bob Horn | 55 | MLB | 6-3 | 239 | 25 | Oregon State | 16 | 16 |
| John Jefferson | 83 | WR | 6-1 | 201 | 23 | Arizona State | 15 | 15 |
| Gary Johnson | 79 | RDT | 6-2 | 255 | 27 | Grambling State | 16 | 15 |
| Charlie Joiner | 18 | WR | 5-11 | 186 | 32 | Grambling State | 16 | 16 |
| Leroy Jones | 68 | LDE | 6-8 | 245 | 29 | Norfolk State | 16 | 15 |
| Louie Kelcher | 74 | DT | 6-5 | 290 | 26 | Southern Methodist | 1 | 0 |
| Linden King | 57 | RLB | 6-4 | 247 | 24 | Colorado State | 16 | 1 |
| Bob Klein | 84 | TE | 6-5 | 235 | 32 | Southern California | 15 | 14 |
| John Lee | 69 | RDE | 6-2 | 259 | 26 | Nebraska | 10 | 2 |
| Woodrow Lowe | 51 | RLB | 6-0 | 227 | 25 | Alabama | 16 | 14 |
| Don Macek | 62 | C-OG | 6-2 | 270 | 25 | Boston College | 9 | 6 |
| Bo Matthews | 41 | FB | 6-3 | 222 | 28 | Colorado | 16 | 0 |
| Gregg McCrary | 88 | TE | 6-3 | 232 | 27 | Clark Atlanta | 14 | 0 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 26 | HB | 5-11 | 198 | 30 | Penn State | 12 | 5 |
| Cliff Olander | 10 | QB | 6-5 | 187 | 24 | New Mexico State | 4 | 0 |
| Artie Owens | 24 | HB | 5-11 | 182 | 26 | West Virginia | 16 | 2 |
| Ralph Perretta | 53 | C | 6-2 | 252 | 26 | Purdue | 16 | 0 |
| Ray Preston | 52 | LLB-RLB | 6-0 | 221 | 25 | Syracuse | 16 | 16 |
| Bob Rush | 56 | C | 6-5 | 270 | 24 | Memphis | 16 | 10 |
| Pete Shaw | 44 | FS | 5-10 | 178 | 25 | Northwestern | 16 | 3 |
| Billy Shields | 66 | LOT | 6-8 | 281 | 26 | Georgia Tech | 16 | 16 |
| Hal Stringert | 45 | CB | 5-11 | 185 | 27 | Willamette; Hawaii | 15 | 1 |
| Mike Thomas | 22 | HB | 5-11 | 190 | 26 | Oklahoma; Nevada-Las Vegas | 14 | 9 |
| Cliff Thrift | 59 | LB | 6-2 | 234 | 23 | East Central | 16 | 0 |
| Russ Washington | 70 | ROT | 6-6 | 295 | 33 | Missouri | 16 | 16 |
| Jeff West | 8 | P | 6-3 | 218 | 26 | Cincinnati | 16 | 0 |
| Ed White | 67 | ROG | 6-2 | 264 | 32 | California | 16 | 16 |
| Doug Wilkerson | 63 | LOG | 6-3 | 253 | 32 | North Carolina Central | 12 | 12 |
| Clarence Williams | 40 | FB | 5-10 | 185 | 24 | South Carolina | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Williams | 29 | RCB | 5-10 | 186 | 26 | Louisiana State | 16 | 16 |
| Kellen Winslow | 80 | TE | 6-5 | 251 | 22 | Missouri | 7 | 1 |
| Mike Wood | 16 | K | 5-11 | 199 | 25 | Southeast Missouri State | 9 | 0 |
| Don Woods | 33 | RB | 6-1 | 191 | 28 | New Mexico Highlands; New Mexico | 15 | 0 |
| Wilbur Young | 99 | LDT | 6-6 | 285 | 30 | William Penn | 16 | 16 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 13 | Kellen Winslow | TE | Missouri |
| 3 | 73 | Cliff Thrift | LB | East Central |
| 4 | 104 | John Floyd | WR | Louisiana-Monroe |
| 8 | 210 | Wilbert Haslip | RB | Hawaii |
| 9 | 237 | Alvin Garrett | WR | Angelo State |
| 10 | 265 | Tony Petruccio | DT | Penn State |
| 10 | 269 | Al Green | DB | Louisiana State |
| 11 | 295 | Dave Rader | QB | Tulsa |
| 12 | 321 | Frank Duncan | DB | San Francisco State |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 80 | 135 | 93 | 103 | 411 |
| Opponents Totals | 82 | 42 | 48 | 74 | 246 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 31:35 | 330 | 114 | 192 | 24 | 87/205 42.4% | / % | 108 | 908 |
| Opponents Totals | 28:25 | 268 | 117 | 132 | 19 | 73/208 35.1% | / % | 100 | 812 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarence Williams | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | ||
| Mike Wood | 0 | 28 | 31 | 90.3 | 11 | 14 | 78.6 | 0 | 61 |
| John Jefferson | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Hank Bauer | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| Bob Klein | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Rolf Benirschke | 0 | 12 | 13 | 92.3 | 4 | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | 24 |
| Charlie Joiner | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Dan Fouts | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Woodrow Lowe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Artie Owens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Kellen Winslow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Roy Gerela | 0 | 6 | 7 | 85.7 | 1 | 7 | 14.3 | 0 | 9 |
| Wilbur Young | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| John Floyd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Bo Matthews | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Lydell Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Mike Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Gregg McCrary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Cliff Olander | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 52 | 47 | 52 | 90.4 | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 2 | 411 |
| Opponents Totals | 32 | 28 | 32 | 87.5 | 8 | 12 | 66.7 | 1 | 246 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Wood | 11 | 14 | 78.6 | 0 | 42 | 0/0 | 4/4 | 6/6 | 1/1 | 0/3 |
| Rolf Benirschke | 4 | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | 42 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0/0 |
| Roy Gerela | 1 | 7 | 14.3 | 1 | 26 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 0/2 | 0/3 | 0/0 |
| Cliff Olander | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | |
| Team Totals | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 1 | 42 | 0/0 | 7/8 | 7/9 | 2/6 | 0/3 |
| Opponents Totals | 8 | 12 | 66.7 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 6/6 | 0/4 | 0/0 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarence Williams | 200 | 752 | 3.8 | 55t | 12 |
| Mike Thomas | 91 | 353 | 3.9 | 21 | 1 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 63 | 211 | 3.3 | 15 | 0 |
| Artie Owens | 40 | 151 | 3.8 | 23 | 1 |
| Bo Matthews | 30 | 112 | 3.7 | 22 | 1 |
| Dan Fouts | 26 | 49 | 1.9 | 26 | 2 |
| Hank Bauer | 22 | 28 | 1.3 | 6 | 8 |
| James Harris | 6 | 26 | 4.3 | 18 | 0 |
| Mike Fuller | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff West | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | -2 | 0 |
| Charlie Joiner | 1 | -12 | -12.0 | -12 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 481 | 1668 | 3.5 | 55t | 25 |
| Opponents Totals | 475 | 1907 | 4.0 | 33 | 19 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Fouts | 530 | 332 | 62.6 | 174 | 4082 | 7.7 | 12.3 | 65t | 24 | 4.5 | 24 | 4.5 | 28 | 195 | 3887 | 82.6 |
| Mike Thomas | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 18 | 18.0 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 118.8 |
| Mike Fuller | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| James Harris | 9 | 5 | 55.6 | 3 | 38 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 10 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 11.1 | 2 | 15 | 23 | 26.4 |
| Hank Bauer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | -13 | |||||||
| Team Totals | 541 | 338 | 62.5 | 178 | 4138 | 7.6 | 12.2 | 65t | 24 | 4.4 | 25 | 4.6 | 31 | 223 | 3915 | 81.6 |
| Opponents Totals | 472 | 261 | 55.3 | 183 | 2881 | 6.1 | 11.0 | 84t | 11 | 2.3 | 28 | 5.9 | 42 | 332 | 2549 | 56.6 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Joiner | 72 | 1008 | 14.0 | 39 | 4 |
| John Jefferson | 61 | 1090 | 17.9 | 65t | 10 |
| Clarence Williams | 51 | 352 | 6.9 | 14 | 0 |
| Bob Klein | 37 | 424 | 11.5 | 54t | 5 |
| Mike Thomas | 32 | 388 | 12.1 | 32 | 0 |
| Kellen Winslow | 25 | 255 | 10.2 | 30 | 2 |
| Lydell Mitchell | 19 | 159 | 8.4 | 24 | 1 |
| Artie Owens | 15 | 176 | 11.7 | 32t | 1 |
| John Floyd | 10 | 152 | 15.2 | 40 | 1 |
| Bo Matthews | 7 | 40 | 5.7 | 13 | 0 |
| Gregg McCrary | 5 | 32 | 6.4 | 19 | 0 |
| Larry Burton | 4 | 62 | 15.5 | 23 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 338 | 4138 | 12.2 | 65t | 24 |
| Opponents Totals | 261 | 2881 | 11.0 | 84t | 11 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodrow Lowe | 5 | 150 | 30.0 | 77t | 2 |
| Ray Preston | 5 | 121 | 24.2 | 35 | 0 |
| Glen Edwards | 4 | 99 | 24.8 | 53 | 0 |
| Mike Williams | 4 | 55 | 13.8 | 50 | 0 |
| Mike Fuller | 4 | 39 | 9.8 | 23 | 0 |
| Pete Shaw | 3 | 54 | 18.0 | 30 | 0 |
| Bob Horn | 2 | 44 | 22.0 | 30 | 0 |
| Don Goode | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 28 | 562 | 20.1 | 77t | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 25 | 279 | 11.2 | 96 | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff West | 75 | 2736 | 36.5 | 62 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 204 | 2352 | 31.4 |
| Team Totals | 75 | 2736 | 36.5 | 62 | 0 | 9 | 23 | 204 | 2352 | 31.4 |
| Opponents Totals | 83 | 3380 | 40.7 | 74 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 488 | 2752 | 33.2 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Fuller | 46 | 7 | 448 | 9.7 | 27 | 0 |
| Mike Williams | 3 | 0 | 19 | 6.3 | 10 | 0 |
| Pete Shaw | 2 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 11 | 0 |
| Don Goode | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 52 | 9 | 488 | 9.4 | 27 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 18 | 204 | 6.0 | 32 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artie Owens | 35 | 791 | 22.6 | 40 | 0 | |
| Mike Fuller | 6 | 115 | 19.2 | 41 | 0 | |
| Hank Bauer | 4 | 92 | 23.0 | 31 | 0 | |
| Clarence Williams | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Lydell Mitchell | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Cliff Thrift | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Ralph Perretta | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Bo Matthews | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Don Woods | 0 | 10 | 10L | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 50 | 1066 | 21.3 | 41 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 72 | 1535 | 21.3 | 104t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Wilbur Young | 13.5 | |
| Fred Dean | 8.5 | |
| Leroy Jones | 7.5 | |
| Gary Johnson | 6.0 | |
| Charles DeJurnett | 4.0 | |
| Woodrow Lowe | 1.0 | |
| John Lee | 0.5 | |
| (Team) | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 42.0 | 332.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 31.0 | 223.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hank Bauer | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Willie Buchanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 0 |
| Fred Dean | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Jerome Dove | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Glen Edwards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Fouts | 13 | 6 | 0 | 6 | -20 | 0 | |
| Mike Fuller | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 0 | |
| James Harris | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -7 | 0 | |
| Bob Horn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Johnson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 0 | |
| Charlie Joiner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leroy Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Linden King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Klein | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodrow Lowe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Bo Matthews | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lydell Mitchell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Artie Owens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Billy Shields | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Thomas | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cliff Thrift | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Wilkerson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Clarence Williams | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kellen Winslow | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wilbur Young | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 31 | 12 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 37 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 30 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 0 |
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