You Are Here > Pro-Football-Reference.com > Teams > Houston Oilers > 1979 Statistics & Players

1979 Houston Oilers

Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season

Record: 11-5-0, Finished 2nd in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 362 points (22.6/g), 8th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 331 points (20.7/g), 16th.
 Differential of 31 points (1.9/g), 10th.
 Expected W-L: 8.8-7.2.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +18 (1.1/g), 2nd.

Coached by Bum Phillips (11-5-0)

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 @ Washington Redskins 29 27 21 365 166 199 3 14 246 104 142 3
2 Sun September 9 box L 1-1 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 7 38 12 124 22 102 6 17 256 174 82 2
3 Sun September 16 box W 2-1 Kansas City Chiefs 20 6 16 345 173 172 1 16 280 97 183 5
4 Sun September 23 box W 3-1 @ Cincinnati Bengals 30 27 19 361 184 177 3 21 265 100 165 2
5 Sun September 30 box W 4-1 Cleveland Browns 31 10 17 270 76 194 24 309 201 108 4
6 Sun October 7 box L 4-2 St. Louis Cardinals 17 24 13 222 165 57 3 26 447 253 194 4
7 Sun October 14 box W 5-2 @ Baltimore Colts 28 16 16 247 27 220 2 16 189 82 107 4
8 Sun October 21 box L 5-3 @ Seattle Seahawks 14 34 16 243 160 83 3 21 391 240 151 2
9 Sun October 28 box W 6-3 New York Jets 27 24 17 311 199 112 1 20 357 225 132 3
10 Mon November 5 box W 7-3 @ Miami Dolphins 9 6 10 190 11 179 13 240 138 102 4
11 Sun November 11 box W 8-3 Oakland Raiders 31 17 16 348 205 143 2 21 294 213 81 3
12 Sun November 18 box W 9-3 Cincinnati Bengals 42 21 26 485 322 163 3 17 306 106 200 6
13 Thu November 22 box W 10-3 @ Dallas Cowboys 30 24 17 378 154 224 20 371 279 92 3
14 Sun December 2 box L 10-4 @ Cleveland Browns 7 14 13 249 128 121 2 23 335 137 198 2
15 Mon December 10 box W 11-4 Pittsburgh Steelers 20 17 20 350 160 190 15 338 218 120 2
16 Sun December 16 box L 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles 20 26 19 339 104 235 3 20 366 198 168 1
Playoffs
WildCard Sun December 23 box W 12-5 Denver Broncos 13 7
Division Sat December 29 box W 13-5 @ San Diego Chargers 17 14
ConfChamp Sun January 6 box L 13-6 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 13 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 362 4827 1034 4.7 268 195 386 2256 17 21 5.4 100 616 2571 24 4.2 149 32 11 19
Team Defense 331 4990 1038 4.8 483 242 465 2765 18 34 5.4 158 522 2225 19 4.3 304 50 16 21
Lg Rank Offense 8 22 22 25 25 18 10 17 3 4 4 7 5 3
Lg Rank Defense 16 13 17 14 14 11 1 9 11 17 17 21 1 14

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%
Dan Pastorini 30 QB 15 15 10-5-0 163 324 50.3 2090 14 4.3 18 5.6 55 6.5 4.4 12.8 139.3 62.1 29 212 5.3 3.4 8.2
Gifford Nielsen 25 16 1 1-0-0 32 61 52.5 404 3 4.9 3 4.9 41 6.6 4.9 12.6 25.3 69.3 3 26 5.9 4.3 4.7
Ken Burrough 31 WR 16 0 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
Team Total 26.3 16 11-5-0 195 386 50.5 2494 17 4.4 21 5.4 55 6.5 4.5 12.8 155.9 63.1 32 238 5.4 3.5 7.7
Opp Total 16 242 465 52.0 2765 18 3.9 34 7.3 5.9 3.0 11.4 172.8 52.7 51 421 5.4 1.9

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
Earl Campbell*+ 24 RB 16 16 368 1697 19 61 4.6 106.1 23.0 16 94 5.9 0 46 1.0 5.9 1791 19 8
Rob Carpenter 24 16 0 92 355 3 13 3.9 22.2 5.8 16 116 7.3 1 22 1.0 7.3 471 4 3
Tim Wilson 25 FB 16 16 84 319 2 19 3.8 19.9 5.3 29 208 7.2 1 24 1.8 13.0 527 3 2
Boobie Clark 29 15 0 22 51 0 7 2.3 3.4 1.5 6 58 9.7 0 38 0.4 3.9 109 0 0
Ronnie Coleman 28 14 0 21 81 0 10 3.9 5.8 1.5 12 114 9.5 1 17 0.9 8.1 195 1 2
Dan Pastorini 30 QB 15 15 15 23 0 14 1.5 1.5 1.0 23 0 6
Gifford Nielsen 25 16 1 5 7 0 7 1.4 0.4 0.3 7 0 1
Rich Caster 31 WR 16 0 4 25 0 10 6.3 1.6 0.3 18 239 13.3 1 36 1.1 14.9 264 1 1
Kenny King 22 12 0 3 9 0 4 3.0 0.8 0.3 9 0 0
Mike Barber 26 TE 15 15 2 4 0 6 2.0 0.3 0.1 27 377 14.0 3 37 1.8 25.1 381 3 1
Ken Burrough 31 WR 16 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 40 752 18.8 6 55 2.5 47.0 752 6 1
Mike Renfro 24 15 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 16 323 20.2 2 49 1.1 21.5 323 2 1
Billy Johnson 27 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 6 108 18.0 1 29 3.0 54.0 108 1 0
Conrad Rucker 25 16 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 4 40 10.0 0 16 0.3 2.5 40 0 0
Guido Merkens 24 16 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 3 44 14.7 1 20 0.2 2.8 44 1 1
Rich Ellender 22 RET 13 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 15 15.0 0 15 0.1 1.2 15 0 4
Jeff Groth 22 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 6 6.0 0 6 0.2 1.0 6 0 0
Team Total 26.3 16 616 2571 24 61 4.2 160.7 38.5 195 2494 12.8 17 55 12.2 155.9 5065 41 31
Opp Total 16 522 2225 19 4.3 139.1 32.6 242 2765 11.4 18 15.1 172.8 4990 37 29

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
Rich Ellender 22 RET 13 0 31 203 0 36 6.5 24 514 0 35 21.4 732
Ronnie Coleman 28 14 0 1 -5 0 -5 -5.0 16 321 0 27 20.1 511
Carter Hartwig 23 16 0 13 238 0 37 18.3 238
Billy Johnson 27 2 0 4 17 0 16 4.3 4 37 0 12 9.3 162
Guido Merkens 24 16 0 2 6 0 6 3.0 2 22 0 13 11.0 72
Rob Carpenter 24 16 0 2 34 0 17 17.0 505
Tim Wilson 25 FB 16 16 2 30 0 15 15.0 557
Rich Caster 31 WR 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 264
Jeff Groth 22 6 0 1 21 0 21 21.0 27
Kenny King 22 12 0 1 17 0 17 17.0 26
Greg Stemrick 28 RCB 16 16 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Team Total 26.3 16 38 221 0 36 5.8 67 1234 0 37 18.4 6520
Opp Total 16 64 1 69 1310 0 19.0

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
Cliff Parsley 25 P 16 0 93 3777 59 0 40.6
Toni Fritsch*+ 34 K 16 0 7 7 6 5 10 7 2 2 25 21 84.0% 43 41 95.3%
Team Total 26.3 16 7 7 6 5 10 7 2 2 25 21 84.0% 43 41 95.3% 93 3777 59 0 40.6
Opp Total 16 28 18 64.3% 40 37 92.5% 73 2993 41.0

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
Willie Alexander 30 13 0 2 27 0 19
Jesse Baker 22 16 2 0 1 20 1
Mike Barber 26 TE 15 15 1 0 0 0
Elvin Bethea* 33 RDE 14 14 0 1 0 0
Gregg Bingham 28 LILB 16 16 3 78 0 54 0 3 0 0
Robert Brazile*+ 26 ROLB 16 16 2 45 0 26 0 3 0 0
Ken Burrough 31 WR 16 0 1 0 0 0
Earl Campbell*+ 24 RB 16 16 8 2 -1 0
Rob Carpenter 24 16 0 3 1 -2 0
Rich Caster 31 WR 16 0 1 0 0 0
Boobie Clark 29 15 0 0 1 0 0
Ronnie Coleman 28 14 0 2 0 0 0
Bill Currier 24 16 0 0 1 0 0
Rich Ellender 22 RET 13 0 4 1 0 0
Carter Hartwig 23 16 0 2 24 0 24 0 3 1 0
Daryl Hunt 23 16 0 0 1 0 0
Carl Mauck 32 C 16 16 0 4 0 0
Guido Merkens 24 16 0 1 1 0 0
Gifford Nielsen 25 16 1 1 0 -1 0
Dan Pastorini 30 QB 15 15 6 3 0 0
Vernon Perry 26 SS 16 16 3 33 0 24
Mike Reinfeldt*+ 26 FS 16 16 12 205 0 39
Mike Renfro 24 15 2 1 0 0 0
Greg Stemrick 28 RCB 16 16 2 50 0 50 0 1 0 0
Art Stringer 25 RILB 8 8 2 21 0 21
Ted Thompson 26 16 2 0 1 0 0
Morris Towns 25 RT 16 14 0 1 0 0
J.C. Wilson 23 LCB 16 16 6 135 1 66 0 1 0 0
Tim Wilson 25 FB 16 16 2 2 0 0
Team Total 26.3 16 34 618 1 66 31 32 17 1
Opp Total 16 32 29 13

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
Earl Campbell*+ 24 RB 16 16 19 114
Toni Fritsch*+ 34 K 16 0 41 21 104
Ken Burrough 31 WR 16 0 6 36
Rob Carpenter 24 16 0 3 1 24
Mike Barber 26 TE 15 15 3 18
Tim Wilson 25 FB 16 16 2 1 18
Mike Renfro 24 15 2 2 12
Jesse Baker 22 16 2 1 6
Rich Caster 31 WR 16 0 1 6
Ronnie Coleman 28 14 0 1 6
Billy Johnson 27 2 0 1 6
Guido Merkens 24 16 0 1 6
J.C. Wilson 23 LCB 16 16 1 6
Team Total 26.3 16 24 17 1 1 41 21 362
Opp Total 16 19 18 1 37 18 331