1979 San Diego Chargers Statistics

National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 12-4
Finishing 1st in the NFL's West Division of the American Football Conference
Postseason: 0-1 Lost Division Playoff
Coach: Don Coryell (12-4)
Location: San Diego, California

1979 San Diego Chargers Roster
1979 San Diego Chargers Results

The San Diego Chargers of the National Football League ended the 1979 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, finishing first in the NFL's West Division of the American Football Conference. The team compiled a postseason mark of 0-1.

San Diego moved the ball well, scoring 411 points, while the rigid defensive squad yielded 246. Dan Fouts directed the offense, slinging for 4,082 yards. Charlie Joiner paced all receivers, grabbing 72 passes, while John Jefferson accumulated 1,090 receiving yards.

Clarence Williams carried the pigskin for a team-best 752 yards for the Chargers.

The sticky-fingered defense pounced on 46 turnovers. Woodrow Lowe and Ray Preston each seized 5 opponent throws.

Don Coryell coached the team. The 1979 San Diego Chargers lost in the Division Playoff.

Click on column headings to sort.

Passing:

Player	Att	Comp	Comp %	Yds	Yds/Att	TDs	TD %	Ints	Int %	Long	Sacked	Yds Lost	Rating
Dan Fouts	530	332	62.6	4082	7.7	24	4.5	24	4.5	65	28	195	82.6
James Harris	9	5	55.6	38	4.2	0	0.0	1	11.1	10	2	15	26.4
Mike Thomas	1	1	100.0	18	18.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	18	0	0	118.8
Hank Bauer	0	0		0		0		0		0	1	13	0.0
Mike Fuller	1	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	0	39.6
Totals	541	338	62.5	4138	7.6	24	4.4	25	4.6	65	31	223

Rushing:

Player	No.	Yds	Avg.	Long	TDs
Clarence Williams	200	752	3.8	55	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
Totals	481	1668	3.5	55	25

Receiving:

Player	No.	Yds	Avg.	Long	TDs
Charlie Joiner	72	1008	14.0	39	4
John Jefferson	61	1090	17.9	65	10
Clarence Williams	51	352	6.9	14	0
Bob Klein	37	424	11.5	54	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	32	1
John Floyd	10	152	15.2	40	1
Bo Matthews	7	40	5.7	13	0
Greg McCrary	5	32	6.4	19	0
Larry Burton	4	62	15.5	23	0
Totals	338	4138	12.2	65	24

Kicking:

Player	X/CA	X/CM	X/CP %	FGA	FGM	FG %	Pts.
Mike Wood	31	28	90.3	14	11	78.6	61
Rolf Benirschke	13	12	92.3	4	4	100.0	24
Roy Gerela	7	6	85.7	7	1	14.3	9
Cliff Olander	1	1	100.0	1		0.0	1
Totals	52	47	90.4	26	16	61.5	95

Punting:

Player	No.	Yds	Avg.	Long
Jeff West	75	2736	36.5	62
Totals	75	2736	36.5	62

Punt Returns:

Player	No.	Yds	Avg.	Long
Mike Fuller	46	448	9.7	27
Pete Shaw	2	21	10.5	11
Mike Williams	3	19	6.3	10
Don Goode	1	0	0.0	0
Totals	52	488	9.4	27

Kick Returns:

Player	No.	Yds	Avg.	Long
Artie Owens	35	791	22.6	40
Mike Fuller	6	115	19.2	41
Hank Bauer	4	92	23.0	31
Clarence Williams	1	19	19.0	19
Lydell Mitchell	1	15	15.0	15
Cliff Thrift	1	11	11.0	11
Ralph Perretta	1	9	9.0	9
Bo Matthews	1	4	4.0	4
Totals	50	1056	21.1	41

Interceptions:

Player	No.	Yds	Avg.	Long	TDs
Woodrow Lowe	5	150	30.0	77	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
Totals	28	562	20.1	77	2

Defense and Fumbles:

Player	Tackle	Brup	Fum	FRec	FYds	FTD
Dan Fouts			13	6	-20	0
Wilbur Young			0	3	3	1
Fred Dean			0	3	2	0
Jerome Dove			0	2	2	0
Glen Edwards		0	0	2	0	0
Gary Johnson			1	2	36	0
Cliff Thrift			0	2	0	0
Linden King			0	2	0	0
Clarence Williams			1	2	0	0
Mike Thomas			4	2	0	0
James Harris			1	1	-7	0
Doug Wilkerson			0	1	0	0
Willie Buchanon			0	1	24	0
Bo Matthews			1	1	0	0
Bob Klein			0	1	0	0
Billy Shields			0	1	0	0
Leroy Jones			0	1	3	0
Woodrow Lowe		0	0	1	2	0
Hank Bauer			1	1	0	0
Mike Fuller		0	4	1	-8	0
Bob Horn		0	0	1	0	0
Charlie Joiner			1	0	0	0
Lydell Mitchell			2	0	0	0
Kellen Winslow			1	0	0	0
Artie Owens			1	0	0	0
Totals	0	0	31	37	37	1

Total Scoring:

	Touchdowns								Other					Total
Player	Rush	Rec	Punt	Kick	MFG	Int	Fum	Other	FG	X/C	Single	2Pt	Saf	Points
Clarence Williams	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			72
Mike Wood	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	28	0			61
John Jefferson	0	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			60
Hank Bauer	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			48
Bob Klein	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			30
Rolf Benirschke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	12	0			24
Charlie Joiner	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			24
Dan Fouts	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			12
Woodrow Lowe	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0			12
Artie Owens	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			12
Kellen Winslow	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			12
Roy Gerela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0			9
Wilbur Young	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	8
Lydell Mitchell	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			6
Bo Matthews	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			6
John Floyd	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			6
Mike Thomas	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			6
Greg McCrary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	2
Cliff Olander	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0			1
Totals	25	24	0	0	0	2	1	0	16	47	0	0	2	411