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1978 San Diego Chargers

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Record: 9-7-0, Finished 2nd in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 355 points (22.2/g), 6th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 309 points (19.3/g), 21st.
 Differential of 46 points (2.9/g), 7th.
 Expected W-L: 9.3-6.7.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -13 (-0.8/g), 27th.

Coached by Tommy Protho (1-3-0) and Don Coryell (8-4-0)

1978 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 3 W 1-0 @ Seattle Seahawks 24 20 16 275 186 89 2 22 446 308 138 2
2 Sun September 10 L 1-1 Oakland Raiders 20 21 24 372 175 197 18 364 280 84 4
3 Sun September 17 L 1-2 @ Denver Broncos 14 27 18 315 214 101 2 21 314 177 137
4 Sun September 24 L 1-3 Green Bay Packers 3 24 20 245 154 91 11 9 127 9 118 2
5 Sun October 1 L 1-4 @ New England Patriots 23 28 18 322 162 160 3 19 299 198 101 1
6 Sun October 8 W 2-4 Denver Broncos 23 0 19 298 170 128 2 11 156 80 76 5
7 Sun October 15 L 2-5 Miami Dolphins 21 28 20 404 287 117 5 17 261 122 139 1
8 Sun October 22 L 2-6 @ Detroit Lions 14 31 16 304 215 89 6 29 461 188 273 2
9 Sun October 29 W 3-6 @ Oakland Raiders 27 23 22 324 163 161 2 15 234 87 147 1
10 Sun November 5 W 4-6 Cincinnati Bengals 22 13 20 322 149 173 12 248 92 156 3
11 Sun November 12 W 5-6 Kansas City Chiefs 29 23 24 385 188 197 2 26 403 198 205 1
12 Sun November 19 W 6-6 @ Minnesota Vikings 13 7 19 287 163 124 3 17 272 209 63 4
13 Sun November 26 L 6-7 @ Kansas City Chiefs 0 23 11 239 164 75 6 19 353 115 238 3
14 Mon December 4 W 7-7 Chicago Bears 40 7 24 481 331 150 3 7 112 32 80 3
15 Sun December 10 W 8-7 Seattle Seahawks 37 10 20 381 286 95 1 17 239 103 136 3
16 Sun December 17 W 9-7 @ Houston Oilers 45 24 24 517 368 149 3 14 270 153 117 3

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 355 5471 1099 5.0 315 271 477 3375 26 30 6.6 171 590 2096 16 3.6 116 51 21 28
Team Defense 309 4559 1005 4.5 432 237 441 2351 23 22 4.7 141 510 2208 12 4.3 273 38 16 18
Lg Rank Offense 6 4 5 4 1 2 23 2 9 20 12 25 26 21
Lg Rank Defense 21 8 12 18 7 27 13 3 4 15 5 24 19 18

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS 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 Fouts 27 QB 15 14 224 381 58.8 2999 24 6.3 20 5.2 55 7.9 6.1 13.4 199.9 83.0 22 130 7.1 5.5 5.5
James Harris 31 9 2 42 88 47.7 518 2 2.3 9 10.2 34 5.9 1.5 12.3 57.6 34.4 8 43 4.9 0.9 8.3
Cliff Olander 23 9 0 5 8 62.5 49 0 0.0 1 12.5 22 6.1 0.5 9.8 5.4 40.1 2 18 3.1 -1.4 20.0
Team Total 26.2 16 271 477 56.8 3566 26 5.5 30 6.3 55 7.5 5.2 13.2 222.9 72.5 32 191 6.6 4.5 6.3
Opp Total 16 237 441 53.7 2351 23 5.2 22 5.0 5.3 3.6 9.9 146.9 65.7 54 474 4.7 2.3

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
Lydell Mitchell 29 RB 16 11 214 820 3 25 3.8 51.3 13.4 57 500 8.8 2 55 3.6 31.3 1320 5 2
Don Woods 27 FB 16 7 151 514 3 27 3.4 32.1 9.4 34 295 8.7 0 29 2.1 18.4 809 3 5
Hank Bauer 24 16 4 85 304 8 37 3.6 19.0 5.3 10 78 7.8 1 14 0.6 4.9 382 9 2
Bo Matthews 27 fb 11 9 71 286 0 28 4.0 26.0 6.5 11 78 7.1 0 13 1.0 7.1 364 0 5
Clarence Williams 23 10 1 27 76 0 12 2.8 7.6 2.7 1 17 17.0 0 17 0.1 1.7 93 0 0
Dan Fouts 27 QB 15 14 20 43 2 22 2.2 2.9 1.3 43 2 10
James Harris 31 9 2 10 7 0 9 0.7 0.8 1.1 7 0 5
Larry Barnes 24 4 0 3 8 0 4 2.7 2.0 0.8 2 13 6.5 0 7 0.5 3.3 21 0 0
Rickey Anderson 25 16 0 3 11 0 6 3.7 0.7 0.2 1 -3 -3.0 0 -3 0.1 -0.2 8 0 0
Greg McCrary 26 8 1 2 18 0 16 9.0 2.3 0.3 1 29 29.0 1 29 0.1 3.6 47 1 0
John Jefferson* 22 WR 14 14 1 7 0 7 7.0 0.5 0.1 56 1001 17.9 13 46 4.0 71.5 1008 13 0
Johnny Rodgers 27 6 0 1 5 0 5 5.0 0.8 0.2 5 47 9.4 0 12 0.8 7.8 52 0 1
Cliff Olander 23 9 0 1 -3 0 -3 -3.0 -0.3 0.1 -3 0 0
Jeff West 25 P 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0 0 1
Bob Klein 31 TE 16 16 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 34 413 12.1 2 24 2.1 25.8 413 2 0
Charlie Joiner 31 WR 16 15 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 33 607 18.4 1 46 2.1 37.9 607 1 2
Pat Curran 33 14 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 9 92 10.2 2 20 0.6 6.6 92 2 0
Artie Owens 25 RET 13 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 9 188 20.9 0 41 0.7 14.5 188 0 0
Larry Burton 27 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5 127 25.4 3 55 1.7 42.3 127 3 1
Dwight McDonald 27 12 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 3 84 28.0 1 37 0.3 7.0 84 1 0
Team Total 26.2 16 590 2096 16 37 3.6 131.0 36.9 271 3566 13.2 26 55 16.9 222.9 5662 42 37
Opp Total 16 510 2208 12 4.3 138.0 31.9 237 2351 9.9 23 14.8 146.9 4559 35 32

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
Mike Fuller 25 SS 16 16 39 436 0 34 11.2 5 109 0 32 21.8 545
Johnny Rodgers 27 6 0 11 88 0 15 8.0 11 287 0 36 26.1 427
Artie Owens 25 RET 13 2 1 20 0 20 20.0 20 524 0 77 26.2 732
Rickey Anderson 25 16 0 6 83 0 21 13.8 91
Clarence Williams 23 10 1 6 143 0 33 23.8 236
Pete Shaw 24 FS 16 14 4 46 0 16 11.5 46
Bob Horn 24 MLB 16 16 2 27 0 16 13.5 27
Don Woods 27 FB 16 7 2 37 0 19 18.5 846
Don Goode 27 LLB 14 14 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Bob Klein 31 TE 16 16 1 13 0 13 13.0 426
Don Macek 24 C 14 9 1 6 0 6 6.0 6
Rick Middleton 27 12 2 1 5 0 5 5.0 5
Ray Preston 24 16 1 1 15 0 15 15.0 15
Mark Slater 23 9 0 1 3 0 3 3.0 3
Hal Stringert 26 LCB 13 10 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Mike H. Williams 25 RCB 16 15 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Team Total 26.2 16 57 590 0 34 10.4 58 1252 0 77 21.6 7504
Opp Total 16 37 1 69 1457 0 21.1

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Kicking Punting
Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
Jeff West 25 P 16 0 73 2720 59 2 37.3
Rolf Benirschke 23 K 15 0 22 18 81.8% 43 37 86.0%
Team Total 26.2 16 22 18 81.8% 43 37 86.0% 73 2720 59 2 37.3
Opp Total 16 22 11 50.0% 40 36 90.0% 99 3812 38.5

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
Rickey Anderson 25 16 0 0 1 0 0
Hank Bauer 24 16 4 2 0 0 0
Larry Burton 27 3 0 1 1 0 0
Fred Dean 26 RDE 15 14 0 1 0 0
Jerome Dove 25 lcb 14 7 1 4 0 4 0 4 2 0
Glen Edwards 31 14 2 3 43 0 24
Dan Fouts 27 QB 15 14 10 3 -4 0
Mike Fuller 25 SS 16 16 4 44 1 23 1 1 0 0
Don Goode 27 LLB 14 14 1 0 0 0
James Harris 31 9 2 5 2 -17 0
Bob Horn 24 MLB 16 16 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
John Jefferson* 22 WR 14 14 0 1 0 0
Gary Johnson 26 RDT 15 14 1 52 1 52
Charlie Joiner 31 WR 16 15 2 0 0 0
Leroy Jones 28 LDE 16 15 0 1 32 0
Louie Kelcher*+ 25 LDT 15 15 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Linden King 23 14 0 1 3 0 3 0 1 14 0
Woodrow Lowe 24 RLB 16 16 1 16 0 16 0 1 0 0
Don Macek 24 C 14 9 1 0 0 0
Bo Matthews 27 fb 11 9 5 0 0 0
Rick Middleton 27 12 2 1 2 0 2 0 1 0 0
Lydell Mitchell 29 RB 16 11 2 1 0 0
Ralph Perretta 25 c 15 8 0 1 0 0
Johnny Rodgers 27 6 0 1 1 0 0
Pete Shaw 24 FS 16 14 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Billy Shields 25 LT 16 16 0 1 0 0
Hal Stringert 26 LCB 13 10 2 4 0 2 0 2 0 0
Jeff West 25 P 16 0 1 0 0 0
Mike H. Williams 25 RCB 16 15 3 23 0 23 1 2 19 0
Don Woods 27 FB 16 7 5 1 -15 0
Team Total 26.2 16 22 191 2 52 37 31 31 0
Opp Total 16 32 32 16

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
Rolf Benirschke 23 K 15 0 37 18 91
John Jefferson* 22 WR 14 14 13 78
Hank Bauer 24 16 4 8 1 54
Lydell Mitchell 29 RB 16 11 3 2 30
Larry Burton 27 3 0 3 18
Don Woods 27 FB 16 7 3 18
Pat Curran 33 14 0 2 12
Dan Fouts 27 QB 15 14 2 12
Bob Klein 31 TE 16 16 2 12
Mike Fuller 25 SS 16 16 1 6
Gary Johnson 26 RDT 15 14 1 6
Charlie Joiner 31 WR 16 15 1 6
Greg McCrary 26 8 1 1 6
Dwight McDonald 27 12 0 1 6
Team Total 26.2 16 16 26 2 37 18 355
Opp Total 16 12 23 1 36 11 309