You Are Here > Pro-Football-Reference.com > Teams > Chicago Bears > 1979 Statistics & Players

1979 Chicago Bears

Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season

Record: 10-6-0, Finished 1st in NFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 306 points (19.1/g), 18th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 249 points (15.6/g), 3rd.
 Differential of 57 points (3.6/g), 6th.
 Expected W-L: 9.9-6.1.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +14 (0.9/g), 4th.

Coached by Neill Armstrong (10-6-0)

1979 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 2 box W 1-0 Green Bay Packers 6 3 17 300 117 183 2 9 149 72 77 1
2 Sun September 9 box W 2-0 Minnesota Vikings 26 7 15 329 93 236 2 13 159 71 88 1
3 Sun September 16 box L 2-1 @ Dallas Cowboys 20 24 14 318 118 200 2 26 420 206 214 3
4 Sun September 23 box L 2-2 @ Miami Dolphins 16 31 16 240 155 85 2 23 389 196 193 1
5 Sun September 30 box L 2-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 17 11 234 152 82 3 18 373 159 214 3
6 Sun October 7 box W 3-3 @ Buffalo Bills 7 0 15 258 18 240 2 7 106 42 64 2
7 Sun October 14 box L 3-4 New England Patriots 7 27 5 169 96 73 2 25 360 218 142 2
8 Sun October 21 box L 3-5 @ Minnesota Vikings 27 30 23 496 292 204 4 15 267 213 54 2
9 Sun October 28 box W 4-5 @ San Francisco 49ers 28 27 20 352 145 207 2 28 455 348 107 2
10 Sun November 4 box W 5-5 Detroit Lions 35 7 21 308 147 161 11 199 117 82 5
11 Sun November 11 box W 6-5 Los Angeles Rams 27 23 19 272 190 82 16 321 76 245 3
12 Sun November 18 box W 7-5 New York Jets 23 13 19 254 108 146 20 320 180 140 3
13 Thu November 22 box L 7-6 @ Detroit Lions 0 20 14 220 142 78 3 18 331 225 106 3
14 Sun December 2 box W 8-6 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 0 10 164 17 147 1 13 238 131 107 5
15 Sun December 9 box W 9-6 @ Green Bay Packers 15 14 16 267 106 161 2 19 306 251 55 5
16 Sun December 16 box W 10-6 St. Louis Cardinals 42 6 27 456 255 201 2 11 113 23 90 2
Playoffs
WildCard Sun December 23 box L 10-7 @ Philadelphia Eagles 17 27

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 306 4637 1031 4.5 262 195 373 2151 16 16 5.3 98 627 2486 17 4.0 140 29 13 24
Team Defense 249 4506 1024 4.4 444 222 458 2528 21 29 5.0 148 519 1978 9 3.8 272 43 14 24
Lg Rank Offense 18 24 24 26 26 20 6 21 2 5 11 15 2 4
Lg Rank Defense 3 6 10 11 5 15 2 5 9 9 2 9 6 22

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
Mike Phipps 32 QB 12 10 9-1-0 134 255 52.5 1535 9 3.5 8 3.1 68 6.0 5.0 11.5 127.9 69.6 15 145 5.1 4.1 5.6
Vince Evans 24 4 3 0-3-0 32 63 50.8 508 4 6.3 5 7.9 65 8.1 5.1 15.9 127.0 66.1 8 75 6.1 3.5 11.3
Bob Avellini 26 7 3 1-2-0 27 51 52.9 310 2 3.9 3 5.9 54 6.1 3.8 11.5 44.3 60.1 8 58 4.3 2.3 13.6
Bob Parsons 29 P 16 0 1 2 50.0 22 0 0.0 0 0.0 22 11.0 11.0 22.0 1.4 89.6 0 0 11.0 11.0 0.0
Brian Baschnagel 25 WR 16 11 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Walter Payton* 25 RB 16 16 1 1 100.0 54 1 100.0 0 0.0 54 54.0 64.0 54.0 3.4 158.3 0 0 54.0 64.0 0.0
Team Total 26.2 16 10-6-0 195 373 52.3 2429 16 4.3 16 4.3 68 6.5 5.0 12.5 151.8 69.2 31 278 5.3 3.9 7.7
Opp Total 16 222 458 48.5 2528 21 4.6 29 6.3 5.5 3.1 11.4 158.0 54.4 47 380 5.0 2.1

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
Walter Payton* 25 RB 16 16 369 1610 14 43 4.4 100.6 23.1 31 313 10.1 2 65 1.9 19.6 1923 16 7
Dave Williams 25 FB 14 12 127 401 1 16 3.2 28.6 9.1 42 354 8.4 5 54 3.0 25.3 755 6 4
Willie McClendon 22 16 0 37 160 1 33 4.3 10.0 2.3 6 27 4.5 0 13 0.4 1.7 187 1 0
Robin Earl 24 13 2 35 132 0 12 3.8 10.2 2.7 8 56 7.0 0 19 0.6 4.3 188 0 3
Mike Phipps 32 QB 12 10 27 51 0 12 1.9 4.3 2.3 51 0 2
Vince Evans 24 4 3 12 72 1 17 6.0 18.0 3.0 72 1 1
Jack Deloplaine 25 5 0 7 18 0 6 2.6 3.6 1.4 2 13 6.5 0 15 0.4 2.6 31 0 0
Lonnie Perrin 27 9 0 5 14 0 5 2.8 1.6 0.6 1 27 27.0 0 27 0.1 3.0 41 0 0
John Skibinski 24 1 1 3 10 0 4 3.3 10.0 3.0 1 4 4.0 0 4 1.0 4.0 14 0 0
Bob Avellini 26 7 3 3 10 0 5 3.3 1.4 0.4 10 0 0
Rickey Watts 22 wr 16 6 1 -6 0 -6 -6.0 -0.4 0.1 24 421 17.5 3 68 1.5 26.3 415 3 1
Doug Buffone 35 16 0 1 14 0 14 14.0 0.9 0.1 1 22 22.0 0 22 0.1 1.4 36 0 0
Brian Baschnagel 25 WR 16 11 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 30 452 15.1 2 54 1.9 28.3 452 2 0
James Scott 27 WR 10 9 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 21 382 18.2 3 64 2.1 38.2 382 3 0
Greg Latta 27 15 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 15 131 8.7 0 25 1.0 8.7 131 0 0
Mike Cobb 24 TE 16 15 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 6 91 15.2 0 38 0.4 5.7 91 0 0
Golden Richards 29 5 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5 107 21.4 1 52 1.0 21.4 107 1 0
Steve Schubert 28 RET 14 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 2 29 14.5 0 15 0.1 2.1 29 0 0
Team Total 26.2 16 627 2486 17 43 4.0 155.4 39.2 195 2429 12.5 16 68 12.2 151.8 4915 33 21
Opp Total 16 519 1978 9 3.8 123.6 32.4 222 2528 11.4 21 13.9 158.0 4506 30 25

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
Len Walterscheid 25 RET 15 2 14 96 0 14 6.9 19 427 0 44 22.5 523
Steve Schubert 28 RET 14 0 25 238 1 77 9.5 2 45 0 27 22.5 312
Rickey Watts 22 wr 16 6 14 289 1 83 20.6 704
Brian Baschnagel 25 WR 16 11 12 260 0 32 21.7 712
Bruce Herron 25 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Greg Latta 27 15 0 1 8 0 8 8.0 139
Willie McClendon 22 16 0 1 12 0 12 12.0 199
Lonnie Perrin 27 9 0 1 13 0 13 13.0 54
Team Total 26.2 16 39 334 1 77 8.6 51 1054 1 83 20.7 6303
Opp Total 16 54 0 59 1252 0 21.2

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0--19 20--29 30--39 40--49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
Bob Parsons 29 P 16 0 92 3486 54 1 37.9
Bob Thomas 27 K 16 0 1 1 7 4 11 9 7 2 1 27 16 59.3% 37 34 91.9%
Team Total 26.2 16 1 1 7 4 11 9 7 2 1 27 16 59.3% 37 34 91.9% 92 3486 54 1 37.9
Opp Total 16 20 12 60.0% 31 27 87.1% 90 3402 37.8

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
Brian Baschnagel 25 WR 16 11 0 1 0 0
Doug Buffone 35 16 0 2 11 0 11
Gary Campbell 27 RLB 16 16 1 32 0 32 0 1 0 0
Robin Earl 24 13 2 3 0 0 0
Allan Ellis 28 8 4 3 67 0 24
Vince Evans 24 4 3 1 0 -2 0
Gary Fencik 25 SS 14 14 6 31 0 17 0 2 0 0
Wentford Gaines 26 16 0 1 38 0 38 0 1 0 0
Dan Hampton 22 LDE 16 16 0 2 0 0
Mike Hartenstine 26 RDE 16 16 0 1 0 0
Bruce Herron 25 16 0 1 0 0 0
Tom Hicks 27 MLB 15 0 3 85 1 66 0 2 0 0
Virgil Livers 27 RCB 13 12 2 41 0 30 0 1 0 0
Jerry Muckensturm 26 LLB 16 16 1 5 0 5 0 2 0 0
Jim Osborne 30 LDT 16 16 0 1 0 0
Alan Page 34 RDT 16 16 0 1 0 0
Walter Payton* 25 RB 16 16 7 2 0 0
Mike Phipps 32 QB 12 10 2 1 -3 0
Doug Plank 26 FS 16 16 3 33 0 22 0 1 17 0
Terry Schmidt 27 LCB 16 16 6 44 1 20
Revie Sorey 26 RG 16 16 0 1 0 0
Len Walterscheid 25 RET 15 2 1 15 0 15 2 1 0 0
Rickey Watts 22 wr 16 6 1 0 0 0
Dave Williams 25 FB 14 12 4 0 0 0
Team Total 26.2 16 29 402 2 66 21 21 12 0
Opp Total 16 31 25 11

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
Walter Payton* 25 RB 16 16 14 2 96
Bob Thomas 27 K 16 0 34 16 82
Dave Williams 25 FB 14 12 1 5 36
Rickey Watts 22 wr 16 6 3 1 24
James Scott 27 WR 10 9 3 18
Brian Baschnagel 25 WR 16 11 2 12
Vince Evans 24 4 3 1 6
Tom Hicks 27 MLB 15 0 1 6
Willie McClendon 22 16 0 1 6
Golden Richards 29 5 0 1 6
Terry Schmidt 27 LCB 16 16 1 6
Steve Schubert 28 RET 14 0 1 6
Team Total 26.2 16 17 16 1 1 2 34 16 304
Opp Total 16 9 21 27 12 249