1979 Oakland Raiders season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Oakland Raiders 1979 9–7 4th AFC West Al Davis Al Davis Tom Flores Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Did not qualify Raiders seasons thumb|right|The Raiders hosting the Miami Dolphins at the Coliseum in 1979 The 1979 Oakland Raiders season was their 10th in the league, and 20th overall. They matched their previous season's output of 9–7.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/rai/1979.htm 1979 Oakland Raiders Statistics & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com Oakland started off 1–3, rallied to 6–4, then fell to 6–6 after an upset loss to the Kansas City chiefs. Oakland then went on a three-game winning streak that featured a 14–10 defensive struggle in Denver, a comeback win in New Orleans after trailing 35–14 in the 3rd quarter, and a 19–14 win over the Cleveland Browns. In the season finale the Raiders stood at 9–6 in need of a win at home against the Seattle Seahawks to have a shot at a wildcard playoff spot. However, it was not to be, as Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn's 314 yards and 2 TD passes eliminated the Raiders, 29–24. This was the first season since 1964 that the Raiders finished lower than second place in the AFL/AFC West. Offseason Draft 1979 NFL draft 1979 Oakland Raiders 2 42 Willie Jones DE Florida State yes 6 142 Ira Matthews RB Wisconsin yes 6 156 Henry Williams DB San Diego State yes 7 175 Jack Matia DT Drake 8 209 Robert Hawkins RB Kentucky 9 238 Jim Rourke OT Boston College 10 259 Ricky Smith DB Tulane 11 294 Bruce Davis OT UCLA yes 12 316 Dirk Abernathy DB Bowling Green 12 320 Reggie Kinlaw DT Oklahoma yes The Football Database. Retrieved 2015-Dec-16. Undrafted free agents + 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBob NorthQuarterbackMichigan Tech Personnel Staff / Coaches 1979 Oakland Raiders Principal Owner/General Manager - Al Davis Minority Co-Owner - Eddie McGah President of the General Partner / General Manager – Al Davis Director of Football Operations - Steve Ortmayer Senior Executive – John Herrera Executive Assistant / Scout - Al LoCasale Head Coach – Tom Flores Offensive Backs – Ray Willsey Receivers Coach – Lew Erber Offensive line – Sam Boghosian Tight Ends - Bob Mischak Offensive Assistant - Joe Madro Defensive Line – Ollie Spencer Linebackers / Assistant Special Teams – Myrel Moore Defensive Backs – Charlie Sumner Defensive Backfield Coach - Willie Brown Special Teams Coach – Jim Sweeney Special Teams Coach - Steve Ortmayer Source:1979 Oakland Raiders (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats , Coaches, Draft https://www.profootballarchives.com/1979nfloak.html 2026-09-24 www.profootballarchives.com Roster 1979 Oakland Raiders 11 David Humm 16 Jim Plunkett 12 Ken Stabler 46 Todd Christensen 26 Clarence Hawkins y 31 Derrick Jensen American football 43 Ira Matthews y 34 Booker Russell 30 Mark van Eeghen 22 Arthur Whittington 21 Cliff Branch 89 Rich Martini 87 Dave Casper 88 Raymond Chester 84 Derrick Ramsey 50 Dave Dalby C 79 Bruce Davis offensive tackle y T 70 Henry Lawrence American football T 65 Mickey Marvin G 68 Dan Medlin G 78 Art Shell T 66 Steve Sylvester American football G/T 63 Gene Upshaw G 75 John Vella T 73 Dave Browning DE 90 Willie Jones defensive lineman, born 1957 y DE 62 Reggie Kinlaw y NT 72 John Matuszak DE 74 Dave Pear NT 77 Charles Philyaw DE 67 Pat Toomay DE 56 Jeff Barnes OLB 83 Ted Hendricks OLB 57 John Huddleston American football ILB 58 Monte Johnson ILB 53 Rod Martin OLB 41 Phil Villapiano ILB 38 Rufus Bess y CB 36 Mike Davis defensive back, born 1956 SS 37 Lester Hayes CB 47 Charlie Phillips American football SS 32 Jack Tatum FS 45 Henry Williams American football y CB  5 Jim Breech K  8 Ray Guy P 81 Morris Bradshaw WR IR 82 Larry Brunson WR IR 42 Monte Jackson CB IR 71 Lindsey Mason T IR -- Kerry Parker y CB IR 35 Terry Robiskie RB IR 60 Otis Sistrunk DE IR 80 Joe Stewart American football WR IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 2 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–17 1–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap 2 September 9 at San Diego Chargers L 10–30 1–1 San Diego Stadium Recap 3 September 16 at Seattle Seahawks L 10–27 1–2 Kingdome Recap 4 September 23 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–35 1–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 5 September 30 Denver Broncos W 27–3 2–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 6 October 8, 1979 Miami Dolphins W 13–3 3–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 7 October 14 Atlanta Falcons W 50–19 4–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 8 October 21 at New York Jets L 19–28 4–4 Shea Stadium Recap 9 October 25, 1979 San Diego Chargers W 45–22 5–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 10 November 4 San Francisco 49ers W 23–10 6–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 11 November 11 at Houston Oilers L 17–31 6–5 Astrodome Recap 12 November 18 Kansas City Chiefs L 21–24 6–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 13 November 25 at Denver Broncos W 14–10 7–6 Mile High Stadium Recap 14 December 3, 1979 at New Orleans Saints W 42–35 8–6 Louisiana Superdome Recap 15 December 9 Cleveland Browns W 19–14 9–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 16 December 16 Seattle Seahawks L 24–29 9–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1 Raiders 0 10 14 0 Rams 7 10 0 0 September 2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles 4:00 p.m. 59,000 70 F; wind 10 mph on yes Q1 LA Tyler 1 yard run (Corral kick) LA 7–0 Q2 LA Miller 17-yard pass from Haden (Corral kick) LA 14–0 Q2 OAK Breech 38-yard field goal LA 14–3 Q2 OAK Ramsey 1 yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) LA 14–10 Q2 LA Corral 46-yard field goal LA 17–10 Q3 OAK Chester 27-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) Tie 17–17 Q3 OAK Chester 4-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) OAK 24–17 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-12. Week 2 Raiders 0 3 7 0 Chargers 14 7 2 7 September 9 San Diego Stadium Sam Nover and John Brodie NBC Week 3 Raiders 0 0 7 3 Seahawks 7 3 10 7 September 16 Kingdome Indoors (dome) Gordon McCarter Marv Albert and Mike Haffner NBC Week 4 Raiders 0 0 0 7 Chiefs 14 0 7 14 September 23 Arrowhead Stadium Week 5 Broncos 0 3 0 0 Raiders 7 7 0 13 September 30 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 4:00 p.m. 64 F; wind 8 mph on Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC yes Q1 OAK Casper 28-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) OAK 7–0 Q2 DEN Turner 19-yard field goal OAK 7–3 Q2 OAK van Eeghen 1 yard run (Breech kick) OAK 14–3 Q4 OAK Breech 27-yard field goal OAK 17–3 Q4 OAK Breech 21-yard field goal OAK 20–3 Q4 OAK Johnson recovered fumble in end zone (Breech kick) OAK 27–3 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-22. Week 6 Dolphins 0 0 3 0 Raiders 0 0 13 0 October 8 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 9:00 p.m. EST 63 F; wind 12 mph on Dick Jorgensen Frank Gifford and Don Meredith ABC yes Q3 OAK Chester 14-yard pass from Stabler (kick failed) OAK 6–0 Q3 OAK Hendricks 23-yard interception return (Breech kick) OAK 13–0 Q3 MIA von Schamann 23-yard field goal OAK 13–3 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-23. Week 7 Falcons 0 0 12 7 Raiders 10 9 10 21 October 14 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 4:00 p.m. 52,900 68 F; wind 9 mph on Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier and John Madden for the 2nd half CBS yes Q1 OAK Breech 40-yard field goal OAK 3–0 Q1 OAK van Eeghen 1 yard run (Breech kick) OAK 10–0 Q2 OAK Breech 30-yard field goal OAK 13–0 Q2 OAK Hawkins 20-yard pass from Stabler (kick failed) OAK 19–0 Q3 OAK van Eeghen 6-yard run (Breech kick) OAK 26–0 Q3 ATL Cain 26-yard pass from Bartkowski (kick failed) OAK 26–6 Q3 OAK Breech 47-yard field goal OAK 29–6 Q3 ATL Cain 18-yard pass from Bartkowski (kick failed) OAK 29–12 Q4 OAK Brunson 8-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) OAK 36–12 Q4 OAK Hayes 51-yard interception return (Breech kick) OAK 43–12 Q4 OAK van Eeghen 1 yard run (Breech kick) OAK 50–12 Q4 ATL Cain 3-yard run (Mazzetti kick) OAK 50–19 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-24. Week 8 Raiders 0 10 3 6 Jets 7 0 7 14 October 21 Shea Stadium Week 9 Chargers 0 6 16 0 Raiders 14 10 7 14 October 25 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 6:00 p.m. EST 66 F, wind 17 mph on Ben Dreith Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith ABC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 1 Raiders Raymond Chester 34-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Jim Breech kick) Raiders 7–0 1 Raiders Booker Russell 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick) Raiders 14–0 2 Raiders Mark van Eeghen 4-yard run (Jim Breech kick) Raiders 21–0 2 Chargers John Jefferson 57-yard pass from Dan Fouts (kick failed) Raiders 21–6 2 Raiders Jim Breech 38-yard field goal Raiders 24–6 3 Chargers Mike Wood 28-yard field goal Raiders 24–9 3 Chargers Dan Fouts 1-yard run (kick failed) Raiders 24–15 3 Raiders Ira Matthews 104-yard kickoff return (Jim Breech kick) Raiders 31–15 3 Chargers Bob Klein 7-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Mike Wood kick) Raiders 31–22 4 Raiders Booker Russell 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick) Raiders 38–22 4 Raiders Booker Russell 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick) Raiders 45–22 yes Week 10 49ers 0 10 0 0 Raiders 9 7 7 0 November 4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 4:00 p.m. 59 F; wind 9 mph on Chuck Heberling Bob Costas, Roman Gabriel CBS yes Q1 OAK Breech 18-yard field goal OAK 3–0 Q1 OAK Branch 9-yard pass from Stabler (kick failed) OAK 9–0 Q2 SF Wersching 39-yard field goal OAK 9–3 Q2 SF Francis 5-yard run (Wersching kick) SF 10–9 Q2 OAK van Eeghen 1 yard run (Breech kick) OAK 16–10 Q3 OAK Branch 8-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) OAK 23–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-25. Week 11 Raiders 7 7 0 3 Oilers 7 7 14 3 November 11 Astrodome Week 12 Chiefs 7 3 14 0 Raiders 0 7 7 7 November 18 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Week 13 Raiders 0 7 7 0 Broncos 0 0 0 10 November 25 Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado 4:00 p.m. 36 F; wind 13 mph on yes Q2 OAK Casper 3-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) OAK 7–0 Q3 OAK Russell 1 yard run (Breech kick) OAK 14–0 Q4 DEN Turner 30-yard field goal OAK 14–3 Q4 DEN Lytle 1 yard run (Turner kick) OAK 14–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-26. Week 14 1979 New Orleans Saints season Oakland Raiders 1979 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Fourteen: Oakland Raiders (7–6) at New Orleans Saints (7–6) December 3, 1979 Monday 8:00 p.m. Raiders 7 7 7 21 Saints 0 28 7 0 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana 71,323 Indoors (dome) Bob Frederic ABC Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter OAK – Raymond Chester 3-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Jim Breech kick). – Raiders 7–0. Drive: 15 plays, 78 yards. Second quarter NO – Tony Galbreath 2-yard run (Garo Yepremian kick). – Tie 7–7. Drive: 13 plays, 89 yards. NO – Tony Galbreath 17-yard pass from Archie Manning (Garo Yepremian kick). – Saints 14–7. Drive: 3 plays, 19 yards. NO – Chuck Muncie 1-yard run (Garo Yepremian kick). – Saints 21–7. Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards. NO – Henry Childs 28-yard pass from Archie Manning (Garo Yepremian kick). – Saints 28–7. Drive: 1 play, 28 yards. OAK – Arthur Whittington 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick). – Saints 28–14. Drive: Third quarter NO – Ken Bordelon 19-yard interception return (Garo Yepremian kick), 6:24. – Saints 35–14. OAK – Mark van Eeghen 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick). – Saints 35–21. Drive: Fourth quarter OAK – Derrick Ramsey 17-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Jim Breech kick). – Saints 35–28. Drive: OAK – Cliff Branch 66-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Jim Breech kick). – Tie 35–35. Drive: OAK – Cliff Branch 8-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Jim Breech kick), 1:54. – Raiders 42–35. Drive: 3 plays, 13 yards. Top passers OAK – Ken Stabler – 26/44, 295 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT NO – Archie Manning – 12/23, 154 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers OAK – Arthur Whittington – 14 rushes, 67 yards, TD NO – Chuck Muncie – 21 rushes, 128 yards, TD Top receivers OAK – Cliff Branch – 7 receptions, 126 yards, 2 TD NO – Tony Galbreath – 7 receptions, 106 yards, TD Week 15 Browns 0 0 7 7 Raiders 7 6 0 6 December 9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California 4:00 p.m. 54 F; wind 6 mph on Don Criqui and John Brodie NBC yes Q1 OAK Branch 39-yard pass from Stabler (Breech kick) OAK 7–0 Q2 OAK Breech 25-yard field goal OAK 10–0 Q2 OAK Breech 38-yard field goal OAK 13–0 Q3 CLE Pruitt 77-yard run (Cockroft kick) OAK 13–7 Q4 OAK Breech 23-yard field goal OAK 16–7 Q4 CLE Pruitt 2-yard run (Cockroft kick) OAK 16–14 Q4 OAK Breech 45-yard field goal OAK 19–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-26. Week 16 Seahawks 10 7 9 3 Raiders 7 10 0 7 December 16 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Standings References External links 1979 Oakland Raiders at Pro Football Reference 1979 Oakland Raiders at JT-SW.com Category:Oakland Raiders seasons Oakland Raiders Oakland Raiders Category:1970s in Oakland, California