You Are Here > Pro-Football-Reference.com > All Years > 1979 NFL > Opposition & Defense Stats

1979 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics

1979 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Stats · Opposition & Defense Stats · Yearly Leaders · Week-by-Week Games · AllPro · Pro Bowl · Draft ·

Previous Season / Next Season

Team Defense

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Rk Tm G Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FR 1stPy
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 237 3949 1015 3.9 378 250 436 2076 14 14 4.4 111 539 1873 13 3.5 247 38 24 20
2 San Diego Chargers 16 246 4456 989 4.5 419 261 472 2549 11 28 5.0 132 475 1907 19 4.0 268 46 18 19
3 Chicago Bears 16 249 4506 1024 4.4 444 222 458 2528 21 29 5.0 148 519 1978 9 3.8 272 43 14 24
4 Miami Dolphins 16 257 4439 938 4.7 389 230 418 2737 17 23 6.0 135 484 1702 9 3.5 238 38 15 16
5 Kansas City Chiefs 16 262 4971 1088 4.6 492 296 528 3124 22 23 5.5 169 522 1847 8 3.5 297 37 14 26
6 Denver Broncos 16 262 4852 1033 4.7 446 296 512 3159 11 19 5.9 146 502 1693 16 3.4 273 37 18 27
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 262 4270 1035 4.1 425 226 480 2561 19 27 4.8 135 506 1709 9 3.4 260 42 15 30
8 Buffalo Bills 16 279 5011 1022 4.9 409 193 382 2530 14 24 6.2 117 617 2481 18 4.0 273 41 17 19
9 Philadelphia Eagles 16 282 4745 1019 4.7 420 243 459 2474 18 22 4.9 125 515 2271 16 4.4 274 33 11 21
10 Washington Redskins 16 295 5146 1058 4.9 514 234 470 2992 18 26 5.8 165 541 2154 21 4.0 320 47 21 29
11 Los Angeles Rams 16 309 4553 1054 4.3 417 220 454 2556 24 25 5.1 133 548 1997 13 3.6 266 41 16 18
12 Dallas Cowboys 16 313 4586 978 4.7 413 207 435 2471 21 13 5.2 134 500 2115 15 4.2 259 23 10 20
13 Green Bay Packers 16 316 5647 1114 5.1 492 249 440 2762 21 18 5.8 146 639 2885 14 4.5 327 32 14 19
14 New York Giants 16 323 5378 1113 4.8 514 253 463 2926 22 21 5.9 159 618 2452 14 4.0 322 38 17 33
15 New England Patriots 16 326 4323 1019 4.2 448 246 467 2553 13 20 4.9 139 495 1770 22 3.6 283 43 23 26
16 Houston Oilers 16 331 4990 1038 4.8 483 242 465 2765 18 34 5.4 158 522 2225 19 4.3 304 50 16 21
17 Minnesota Vikings 16 337 5223 1037 5.0 446 229 424 2697 14 22 5.9 133 583 2526 24 4.3 297 33 11 16
18 Oakland Raiders 16 337 5486 1038 5.3 501 247 471 3112 21 24 6.2 150 534 2374 17 4.4 319 46 22 32
19 Baltimore Colts 16 351 5074 1009 5.0 424 203 411 2768 23 23 6.2 130 559 2306 15 4.1 265 39 16 29
20 Cleveland Browns 16 352 5650 1076 5.3 478 271 468 3046 14 16 6.1 158 577 2604 25 4.5 307 32 16 13
21 St. Louis Cardinals 16 358 5077 1073 4.7 479 258 478 2873 22 18 5.7 149 567 2204 18 3.9 302 37 19 28
22 New Orleans Saints 16 360 5535 1055 5.2 521 265 488 3066 24 26 5.7 168 521 2469 22 4.7 334 42 16 19
23 Detroit Lions 16 365 4957 1085 4.6 480 220 402 2442 15 14 5.5 128 638 2515 22 3.9 311 26 12 41
24 Seattle Seahawks 16 372 5834 1078 5.4 554 317 508 3459 21 17 6.3 171 533 2375 23 4.5 350 33 16 33
25 New York Jets 16 383 5821 1094 5.3 555 339 570 4115 31 21 7.0 198 502 1706 13 3.4 331 40 19 26
26 Atlanta Falcons 16 388 5759 1071 5.4 513 268 487 3596 17 15 7.0 177 555 2163 27 3.9 311 36 21 25
27 San Francisco 49ers 16 416 5393 1014 5.3 516 262 441 3180 25 15 6.8 160 544 2213 24 4.1 326 34 19 30
28 Cincinnati Bengals 16 421 5911 1052 5.6 535 275 492 3692 27 20 7.0 175 528 2219 22 4.2 334 44 24 26
Avg Team 321.0 5055.1 1043.5 4.8 295.4 250.8 463.5 2886.0 19.2 21.3 5.8 148.2 542.3 2169.0 17.4 4.0 122.7 38.3 16.9 24.5
League Total 8989 141542 29219 4.8 8270 7022 12979 80809 538 597 5.8 4149 15183 60733 487 4.0 3435 1071 474 686
Avg Tm/G 20.1 315.9 65.2 4.8 18.5 15.7 29.0 180.4 1.2 1.3 5.8 9.3 33.9 135.6 1.1 4.0 7.7 2.4 1.1 1.5

Passing Defense

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Rk Tm G 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%
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 250 436 57.3 2076 14 3.2 14 3.2 4.8 3.6 8.3 129.8 67.0 40 329 4.4 2.6
2 Detroit Lions 16 220 402 54.7 2442 15 3.7 14 3.5 6.1 4.9 11.1 152.6 70.9 45 345 5.5 3.6
3 Dallas Cowboys 16 207 435 47.6 2471 21 4.8 13 3.0 5.7 4.8 11.9 154.4 69.0 43 362 5.2 3.6
4 Philadelphia Eagles 16 243 459 52.9 2474 18 3.9 22 4.8 5.4 3.6 10.2 154.6 61.8 45 324 4.9 2.7
5 Chicago Bears 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
6 Buffalo Bills 16 193 382 50.5 2530 14 3.7 24 6.3 6.6 4.2 13.1 158.1 57.8 23 183 6.2 3.5
7 San Diego Chargers 16 261 472 55.3 2549 11 2.3 28 5.9 5.4 3.0 9.8 159.3 53.7 42 332 5.0 2.1
8 New England Patriots 16 246 467 52.7 2553 13 2.8 20 4.3 5.5 3.8 10.4 159.6 60.2 57 512 4.9 2.4
9 Los Angeles Rams 16 220 454 48.5 2556 24 5.3 25 5.5 5.6 3.7 11.6 159.8 60.6 52 451 5.1 2.4
10 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 226 480 47.1 2561 19 4.0 27 5.6 5.3 3.2 11.3 160.1 53.3 49 351 4.8 2.2
11 Minnesota Vikings 16 229 424 54.0 2697 14 3.3 22 5.2 6.4 4.4 11.8 168.6 63.0 30 268 5.9 3.5
12 Miami Dolphins 16 230 418 55.0 2737 17 4.1 23 5.5 6.5 4.5 11.9 171.1 65.8 36 314 6.0 3.4
13 Green Bay Packers 16 249 440 56.6 2762 21 4.8 18 4.1 6.3 4.9 11.1 172.6 74.3 35 279 5.8 4.0
14 Houston Oilers 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
15 Baltimore Colts 16 203 411 49.4 2768 23 5.6 23 5.6 6.7 4.8 13.6 173.0 66.6 39 312 6.2 3.7
16 St. Louis Cardinals 16 258 478 54.0 2873 22 4.6 18 3.8 6.0 4.8 11.1 179.6 71.8 28 194 5.7 4.1
17 New York Giants 16 253 463 54.6 2926 22 4.8 21 4.5 6.3 4.8 11.6 182.9 70.9 32 228 5.9 4.0
18 Washington Redskins 16 234 470 49.8 2992 18 3.8 26 5.5 6.4 4.3 12.8 187.0 59.8 47 347 5.8 3.2
19 Cleveland Browns 16 271 468 57.9 3046 14 3.0 16 3.4 6.5 5.3 11.2 190.4 73.2 31 243 6.1 4.5
20 New Orleans Saints 16 265 488 54.3 3066 24 4.9 26 5.3 6.3 4.4 11.6 191.6 67.7 46 391 5.7 3.3
21 Oakland Raiders 16 247 471 52.4 3112 21 4.5 24 5.1 6.6 4.8 12.6 194.5 66.9 33 254 6.2 3.9
22 Kansas City Chiefs 16 296 528 56.1 3124 22 4.2 23 4.4 5.9 4.4 10.6 195.3 69.2 38 280 5.5 3.6
23 Denver Broncos 16 296 512 57.8 3159 11 2.1 19 3.7 6.2 4.7 10.7 197.4 67.7 19 162 5.9 4.2
24 San Francisco 49ers 16 262 441 59.4 3180 25 5.7 15 3.4 7.2 6.2 12.1 198.8 86.4 29 227 6.8 5.4
25 Seattle Seahawks 16 317 508 62.4 3459 21 4.1 17 3.3 6.8 5.7 10.9 216.2 82.3 37 280 6.3 4.8
26 Atlanta Falcons 16 268 487 55.0 3596 17 3.5 15 3.1 7.4 6.3 13.4 224.8 77.5 29 203 7.0 5.6
27 Cincinnati Bengals 16 275 492 55.9 3692 27 5.5 20 4.1 7.5 6.2 13.4 230.8 81.3 32 216 7.0 5.4
28 New York Jets 16 339 570 59.5 4115 31 5.4 21 3.7 7.2 6.1 12.1 257.2 84.5 22 173 7.0 5.6
Avg Team 250.8 463.5 54.1 2886.0 19.2 4.1 21.3 4.6 66 6.2 4.6 11.5 180.4 67.8 37.8 298.6 5.2 3.6 7.5
League Total 7022 12979 54.1 80809 538 4.1 597 4.6 85 6.2 4.6 11.5 5050.6 67.8 1057 8361 5.2 3.6 7.5
Avg Tm/G 15.7 29.0 54.1 180.4 1.2 4.1 1.3 4.6 6.2 4.6 11.5 180.4 67.8 2.4 18.7 5.2 3.6 7.5

Rushing Defense

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Rk Tm G Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G Fmb
1 Denver Broncos 16 502 1693 16 3.4 105.8
2 Miami Dolphins 16 484 1702 9 3.5 106.4
3 New York Jets 16 502 1706 13 3.4 106.6
4 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 506 1709 9 3.4 106.8
5 New England Patriots 16 495 1770 22 3.6 110.6
6 Kansas City Chiefs 16 522 1847 8 3.5 115.4
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 539 1873 13 3.5 117.1
8 San Diego Chargers 16 475 1907 19 4.0 119.2
9 Chicago Bears 16 519 1978 9 3.8 123.6
10 Los Angeles Rams 16 548 1997 13 3.6 124.8
11 Dallas Cowboys 16 500 2115 15 4.2 132.2
12 Washington Redskins 16 541 2154 21 4.0 134.6
13 Atlanta Falcons 16 555 2163 27 3.9 135.2
14 St. Louis Cardinals 16 567 2204 18 3.9 137.8
15 San Francisco 49ers 16 544 2213 24 4.1 138.3
16 Cincinnati Bengals 16 528 2219 22 4.2 138.7
17 Houston Oilers 16 522 2225 19 4.3 139.1
18 Philadelphia Eagles 16 515 2271 16 4.4 141.9
19 Baltimore Colts 16 559 2306 15 4.1 144.1
20 Oakland Raiders 16 534 2374 17 4.4 148.4
21 Seattle Seahawks 16 533 2375 23 4.5 148.4
22 New York Giants 16 618 2452 14 4.0 153.3
23 New Orleans Saints 16 521 2469 22 4.7 154.3
24 Buffalo Bills 16 617 2481 18 4.0 155.1
25 Detroit Lions 16 638 2515 22 3.9 157.2
26 Minnesota Vikings 16 583 2526 24 4.3 157.9
27 Cleveland Browns 16 577 2604 25 4.5 162.8
28 Green Bay Packers 16 639 2885 14 4.5 180.3
Avg Team 542.3 2169.0 17.4 58 4.0 135.6 32.2
League Total 15183 60733 487 84 4.0 3795.8 901
Avg Tm/G 33.9 135.6 1.1 4.0 135.6 2.0

Kick & Punt Returns Against

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
Rk Tm G Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
1 Miami Dolphins 16 25 0 69 1518 0 22.0
2 Washington Redskins 16 29 0 76 1280 0 16.8
3 Green Bay Packers 16 43 0 50 999 0 20.0
4 Chicago Bears 16 54 0 59 1252 0 21.2
5 Denver Broncos 16 52 0 57 1173 1 20.6
6 New York Giants 16 60 0 44 900 0 20.5
7 New Orleans Saints 16 32 0 76 1523 0 20.0
8 Buffalo Bills 16 61 1 54 1142 0 21.1
9 Atlanta Falcons 16 41 0 61 1312 0 21.5
10 Oakland Raiders 16 40 1 67 1290 0 19.3
11 San Diego Chargers 16 34 0 72 1535 1 21.3
12 New England Patriots 16 28 1 80 1621 0 20.3
13 Seattle Seahawks 16 42 0 70 1238 0 17.7
14 Houston Oilers 16 64 1 69 1310 0 19.0
15 Kansas City Chiefs 16 49 0 51 1017 0 19.9
16 New York Jets 16 33 0 70 1529 1 21.8
17 Philadelphia Eagles 16 34 0 69 1265 0 18.3
18 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 31 0 81 1668 0 20.6
19 Cleveland Browns 16 45 0 70 1324 0 18.9
20 Minnesota Vikings 16 48 0 59 1070 0 18.1
21 Dallas Cowboys 16 34 0 68 1578 1 23.2
22 Baltimore Colts 16 43 1 57 1065 0 18.7
23 San Francisco 49ers 16 37 0 68 1367 0 20.1
24 St. Louis Cardinals 16 45 0 57 1332 1 23.4
25 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 47 0 55 1254 0 22.8
26 Detroit Lions 16 57 1 51 987 1 19.4
27 Cincinnati Bengals 16 48 0 63 1258 0 20.0
28 Los Angeles Rams 16 59 0 58 1303 0 22.5
Avg Team 43.4 332.1 0.2 44 7.7 63.6 1289.6 0.2 57 20.3 6676.8
League Total 1215 9299 6 88 7.7 1781 36110 6 106 20.3 186951
Avg Tm/G 2.7 20.8 0.0 7.7 4.0 80.6 0.0 20.3 417.3

Kicking & Punting Against

Glossary · CSV · PRE
0--19 20--29 30--39 40--49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
Rk Tm G FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
1 Green Bay Packers 16 33 20 60.6% 36 32 88.9% 64 2515 39.3
2 San Francisco 49ers 16 17 14 82.4% 54 46 85.2% 74 2819 38.1
3 New Orleans Saints 16 17 11 64.7% 46 45 97.8% 71 2726 38.4
4 Seattle Seahawks 16 29 18 62.1% 46 42 91.3% 69 2615 37.9
5 Miami Dolphins 16 26 15 57.7% 30 26 86.7% 77 2918 37.9
6 Oakland Raiders 16 22 12 54.5% 43 39 90.7% 63 2375 37.7
7 Kansas City Chiefs 16 21 13 61.9% 32 31 96.9% 88 3414 38.8
8 Detroit Lions 16 36 24 66.7% 42 41 97.6% 83 3320 40.0
9 Cleveland Browns 16 35 22 62.9% 42 34 81.0% 80 3312 41.4
10 Minnesota Vikings 16 24 15 62.5% 42 32 76.2% 93 3692 39.7
11 New York Jets 16 29 22 75.9% 46 39 84.8% 69 2525 36.6
12 Philadelphia Eagles 16 23 15 65.2% 34 33 97.1% 85 3383 39.8
13 Atlanta Falcons 16 29 20 69.0% 47 44 93.6% 73 2723 37.3
14 Denver Broncos 16 26 15 57.7% 31 31 100.0% 88 3705 42.1
15 St. Louis Cardinals 16 31 19 61.3% 43 41 95.3% 90 3528 39.2
16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 24 14 58.3% 28 25 89.3% 104 4274 41.1
17 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 26 16 61.5% 31 28 90.3% 100 4000 40.0
18 Washington Redskins 16 17 8 47.1% 39 37 94.9% 70 2849 40.7
19 Dallas Cowboys 16 27 17 63.0% 38 34 89.5% 96 3917 40.8
20 San Diego Chargers 16 12 8 66.7% 32 28 87.5% 83 3378 40.7
21 New York Giants 16 35 18 51.4% 39 35 89.7% 80 2936 36.7
22 Cincinnati Bengals 16 27 20 74.1% 52 49 94.2% 71 2812 39.6
23 Chicago Bears 16 20 12 60.0% 31 27 87.1% 90 3402 37.8
24 Buffalo Bills 16 31 16 51.6% 34 27 79.4% 92 3514 38.2
25 Los Angeles Rams 16 21 14 66.7% 38 35 92.1% 108 4352 40.3
26 Houston Oilers 16 28 18 64.3% 40 37 92.5% 73 2993 41.0
27 Baltimore Colts 16 28 20 71.4% 42 37 88.1% 95 3800 40.0
28 New England Patriots 16 26 18 69.2% 39 36 92.3% 94 3638 38.7
Avg Team 0.7 0.5 6.5 5.7 8.4 5.6 8.6 3.9 1.5 0.5 25.7 16.2 63.1% 39.2 35.4 90.3% 83.0 3264.6 63 0.9 39.3
League Total 19 14 183 160 236 157 240 109 42 14 720 454 63.1% 1097 991 90.3% 2323 91410 74 24 39.3
Avg Tm/G 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.1 1.6 1.0 63.1% 2.4 2.2 90.3% 5.2 204.0 0.1 39.3

Scoring Against

Glossary · CSV · PRE
<
Rk Tm G RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
1 Detroit Lions 16 22 15 1 1 41 24 365
2 New York Giants 16 14 22 35 18 323
3 Kansas City Chiefs 16 8 22 31 13 262
4 Green Bay Packers 16 14 21 32 20 1 316
5 Minnesota Vikings 16 24 14 32 15 1 337
6