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1979 Pittsburgh Steelers
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Record: 12-4-0, Finished 1st in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
1979 Super Bowl Champions
Scored 416 points (26.0/g), 1st of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 262 points (16.4/g), 5th.
Differential of 154 points (9.6/g), 2nd.
Expected W-L: 12.0-4.0.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -10 (-0.6/g), 24th.
Coached by Chuck Noll (12-4-0)
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1979 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Terry Bradshaw* | 31 | 9 | 16 | 259 for 472, 3,724 yards, 26 td, 25 int, & 21 rushes for 83 yards and 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 1st pick / 1970 |
| RB | Sidney Thornton | 25 | 2 | 10 | 118 rushes for 585 yards, 6 td, & 16 catches for 231 yards and 4 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1977 |
| RB | Rocky Bleier | 33 | 11 | 0 | 92 rushes for 434 yards, 4 td, & 31 catches for 277 yards and 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 16th / 417th pick / 1968 |
| FB | Franco Harris* | 29 | 7 | 15 | 267 rushes for 1,186 yards, 11 td, & 36 catches for 291 yards and 1 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 13th pick / 1972 |
| WR | John Stallworth*+ | 27 | 5 | 16 | 70 catches for 1,183 yards, 8 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 82nd pick / 1974 |
| WR | Lynn Swann | 27 | 5 | 11 | 41 catches for 808 yards, 5 td, & 1 rush for 9 yards and 1 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 21st pick / 1974 |
| TE | Bennie Cunningham | 25 | 3 | 8 | 36 catches for 512 yards, 4 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 28th pick / 1976 |
| TE | Randy Grossman | 27 | 5 | 8 | 12 catches for 217 yards, 1 td | |
| LT | Jon Kolb | 32 | 10 | 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 56th pick / 1969 |
|
| LT | Ted Petersen | 24 | 2 | 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1977 |
|
| LG | Sam Davis | 35 | 12 | 12 | ||
| C | Mike Webster*+ | 27 | 5 | 16 | 2 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 125th pick / 1974 |
| RG | Steve Courson | 24 | 1 | 8 | 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 125th pick / 1977 |
| RG | Gerry Mullins | 30 | 8 | 0 | 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 86th pick / 1971 |
| RT | Larry Brown | 30 | 8 | 14 | 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 106th pick / 1971 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | L.C. Greenwood* | 33 | 10 | 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 10th / 238th pick / 1969 |
|
| LDE | Tom Beasley | 25 | 1 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 60th pick / 1977 |
|
| LDT | Joe Greene* | 33 | 10 | 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 4th pick / 1969 |
|
| RDT | Gary Dunn | 26 | 3 | 15 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 159th pick / 1976 |
| RDE | John Banaszak | 29 | 4 | 16 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | |
| LLB | Jack Ham*+ | 31 | 8 | 15 | 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 34th pick / 1971 |
| MLB | Jack Lambert*+ | 27 | 5 | 13 | 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 46th pick / 1974 |
| RLB | Dirt Winston | 24 | 2 | 11 | 3 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 132nd pick / 1977 |
| RLB | Robin Cole | 24 | 2 | 8 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 21st pick / 1977 |
| LCB | Ron Johnson | 23 | 1 | 11 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1978 |
| RCB | Mel Blount* | 31 | 9 | 16 | 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1970 |
| SS | Donnie Shell*+ | 27 | 5 | 16 | 5 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| FS | J.T. Thomas | 28 | 6 | 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 24th pick / 1973 |
|
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Matt Bahr | 23 | Rook | 0 | 18 of 30 field goals & 50 of 52 extra points | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 165th pick / 1979 |
| P | Craig Colquitt | 25 | 1 | 0 | 68 punts for a 40.2 average, 0 blocked | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 76th pick / 1978 |
| PR | Theo Bell | 26 | 3 | 1 | 45 punt returns for a 8.4 average and 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 120th pick / 1976 |
| KR | Larry Anderson | 23 | 1 | 0 | 34 kick returns for a 21.5 average and 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 101st pick / 1978 |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Anderson | 23 | RB | 16 | 0 | 197 | 6-0 | Temple | 9/27/1956 | Rook | |
| Larry Anderson | 23 | DB | 16 | 0 | 183 | 5-11 | Louisiana Tech | 9/25/1956 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 101st pick / 1978 |
| Matt Bahr | 23 | K | 16 | 0 | 175 | 5-10 | Penn State | 7/6/1956 | Rook | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 165th pick / 1979 |
| John Banaszak | 29 | DE-DT | 16 | 16 | 242 | 6-3 | Eastern Michigan | 8/24/1950 | 4 | |
| Tom Beasley | 25 | DE-DT | 13 | 5 | 253 | 6-5 | Virginia Tech | 8/11/1954 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 60th pick / 1977 |
| Theo Bell | 26 | WR | 13 | 1 | 185 | 6-0 | Arizona | 12/21/1953 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 120th pick / 1976 |
| Rocky Bleier | 33 | RB | 16 | 0 | 210 | 5-11 | Notre Dame | 3/5/1946 | 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 16th / 417th pick / 1968 |
| Mel Blount* | 31 | DB | 16 | 16 | 205 | 6-3 | Southern | 4/10/1948 | 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1970 |
| Terry Bradshaw* | 31 | QB | 16 | 16 | 215 | 6-3 | Louisiana Tech | 9/2/1948 | 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 1st pick / 1970 |
| Larry Brown | 30 | T-TE | 15 | 14 | 246 | 6-4 | Kansas | 6/16/1949 | 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 106th pick / 1971 |
| Robin Cole | 24 | LB-DE | 13 | 8 | 220 | 6-2 | New Mexico | 9/11/1955 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 21st pick / 1977 |
| Craig Colquitt | 25 | P | 16 | 0 | 182 | 6-1 | Tennessee | 6/9/1954 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 76th pick / 1978 |
| Steve Courson | 24 | G | 16 | 8 | 274 | 6-1 | South Carolina | 10/1/1955 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 125th pick / 1977 |
| Bennie Cunningham | 25 | TE | 15 | 8 | 254 | 6-5 | Clemson | 12/23/1954 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 28th pick / 1976 |
| Sam Davis | 35 | G | 13 | 12 | 255 | 6-1 | Allen | 7/5/1944 | 12 | |
| Jack Deloplaine | 25 | RB | 1 | 0 | 205 | 5-10 | Salem | 4/21/1954 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 182nd pick / 1976 |
| Thom Dornbrook | 23 | G-C | 16 | 1 | 240 | 6-2 | Kentucky | 12/1/1956 | Rook | |
| Gary Dunn | 26 | NT-DT-DE | 16 | 15 | 258 | 6-3 | Miami (FL) | 8/24/1953 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 159th pick / 1976 |
| Steve Furness | 29 | DT-DE | 12 | 2 | 255 | 6-4 | Rhode Island | 12/5/1950 | 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 113th pick / 1972 |
| Tom Graves | 24 | LB | 11 | 0 | 228 | 6-3 | Michigan State | 12/18/1955 | Rook | Pittsburgh Steelers / 8th / 220th pick / 1979 |
| Joe Greene* | 33 | DT | 15 | 15 | 275 | 6-4 | North Texas | 9/24/1946 | 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 4th pick / 1969 |
| L.C. Greenwood* | 33 | DE | 12 | 11 | 245 | 6-6 | Ark-Pine Bluff | 9/8/1946 | 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 10th / 238th pick / 1969 |
| Randy Grossman | 27 | TE | 16 | 8 | 218 | 6-1 | Temple | 9/20/1952 | 5 | |
| Jack Ham*+ | 31 | LB | 15 | 15 | 225 | 6-1 | Penn State | 12/23/1948 | 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 34th pick / 1971 |
| Franco Harris* | 29 | RB | 15 | 15 | 230 | 6-2 | Penn State | 3/7/1950 | 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 13th pick / 1972 |
| Greg Hawthorne | 23 | RB-TE-WR | 15 | 0 | 228 | 6-2 | Baylor | 9/5/1956 | Rook | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 28th pick / 1979 |
| Ron Johnson | 23 | DB | 11 | 11 | 200 | 5-10 | Eastern Michigan | 6/8/1956 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 22nd pick / 1978 |
| Jon Kolb | 32 | T-C | 14 | 12 | 262 | 6-2 | Oklahoma State | 8/30/1947 | 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 56th pick / 1969 |
| Mike Kruczek | 26 | QB | 8 | 0 | 202 | 6-1 | Boston College | 3/15/1953 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 47th pick / 1976 |
| Jack Lambert*+ | 27 | LB | 16 | 13 | 220 | 6-4 | Kent State | 7/8/1952 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 46th pick / 1974 |
| Rick Moser | 23 | RB | 16 | 0 | 210 | 6-0 | Rhode Island | 12/18/1956 | 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 8th / 208th pick / 1978 |
| Gerry Mullins | 30 | G-T | 15 | 0 | 244 | 6-3 | USC | 8/24/1949 | 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 86th pick / 1971 |
| Ted Petersen | 24 | T-C-G | 16 | 6 | 244 | 6-5 | Eastern Illinois | 2/7/1955 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1977 |
| Donnie Shell*+ | 27 | DB | 16 | 16 | 190 | 5-11 | South Carolina State | 8/26/1952 | 5 | |
| Jim Smith | 24 | WR | 15 | 4 | 205 | 6-2 | Michigan | 7/20/1955 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 3rd / 75th pick / 1977 |
| John Stallworth*+ | 27 | WR | 16 | 16 | 191 | 6-2 | Alabama A&M | 7/15/1952 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 82nd pick / 1974 |
| Lynn Swann | 27 | WR | 13 | 11 | 180 | 5-11 | USC | 3/7/1952 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 21st pick / 1974 |
| J.T. Thomas | 28 | DB | 14 | 13 | 196 | 6-2 | Florida State | 4/22/1951 | 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 24th pick / 1973 |
| Sidney Thornton | 25 | RB | 13 | 10 | 230 | 5-11 | Northwest State (LA) | 9/2/1954 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 48th pick / 1977 |
| Loren Toews | 28 | LB | 11 | 0 | 220 | 6-3 | California | 11/3/1951 | 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 8th / 192nd pick / 1973 |
| Zack Valentine | 22 | LB | 16 | 0 | 220 | 6-2 | East Carolina | 5/29/1957 | Rook | Pittsburgh Steelers / 2nd / 56th pick / 1979 |
| Mike Wagner | 30 | DB | 8 | 0 | 210 | 6-1 | Western Illinois | 6/22/1949 | 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 11th / 268th pick / 1971 |
| Mike Webster*+ | 27 | C-G | 16 | 16 | 255 | 6-1 | Wisconsin | 3/18/1952 | 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 125th pick / 1974 |
| Dwight White | 30 | DE | 11 | 0 | 255 | 6-4 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 7/30/1949 | 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 4th / 104th pick / 1971 |
| Dirt Winston | 24 | LB | 16 | 11 | 228 | 6-0 | Arkansas | 10/25/1955 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 5th / 132nd pick / 1977 |
| Dwayne Woodruff | 22 | DB | 16 | 1 | 198 | 5-11 | Louisville | 2/18/1957 | Rook | Pittsburgh Steelers / 6th / 161st pick / 1979 |
| Team Total | 26.9 | 16 | 223.1 | 6-1.7 | 4.4 |