The National Football League playoffs for the 1979 season began on December 23, 1979. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV, 31–19, on January 20, 1980, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, NBC broadcast the AFC playoff games, while CBS televised the NFC games and Super Bowl XIV.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%; text-align:center;"
! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br>(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
|-
! colspan="6"|Wild Card playoffs
|-
| Chicago Bears || 17–27 || Philadelphia Eagles || December 23, 1979 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Denver Broncos || 7–13 || Houston Oilers || December 23, 1979 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| Philadelphia Eagles || 17–24 || Tampa Bay Buccaneers || December 29, 1979 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Houston Oilers || 17–14 || San Diego Chargers || December 29, 1979 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Miami Dolphins || 14–34 || Pittsburgh Steelers || December 30, 1979 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Los Angeles Rams || 21–19 || Dallas Cowboys || December 30, 1979 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Houston Oilers || 13–27 || Pittsburgh Steelers || January 6, 1980 || 1:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Los Angeles Rams || 9–0 || Tampa Bay Buccaneers || January 6, 1980 || 5:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XIV<br><small>Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California</small>
|-
| Los Angeles Rams || 19–31 || Pittsburgh Steelers || January 20, 1980 || 6:00 p.m. || CBS
|}
Wild card playoffs
Sunday, December 23, 1979
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 27, Chicago Bears 17
In the first NFL postseason game played in Philadelphia since the 1960 NFL Championship Game, Eagles Quarterback Ron Jaworski threw for 204 yards and 3 touchdown passes as Philadelphia overcame a 17–10 Bears halftime lead. The Eagles scored first when Jaworski threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Harold Carmichael. Chicago responded with an 82-yard drive to score on running back Walter Payton's 2-yard rushing touchdown. Then after Philadelphia added a field goal from Tony Franklin, Payton scored again on a 1-yard touchdown run. Later in the second quarter, Bears lineman Alan Page recovered a fumble from Jaworski on the Eagles 16-yard line, leading to Bob Thomas' 30-yard field goal that gave Chicago a 17–10 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Payton ripped off an 84-yard run on his first carry, but it was called back by an illegal motion penalty against receiver Brian Baschnagel. Following a punt, the Eagles tied the game on Jaworski's 29-yard touchdown pass to Carmichael. Chicago responded with a drive to the Philadelphia 9-yard line, but defensive back Bob Howard ended the scoring threat by intercepting Mike Phipps in the end zone. A few plays later, Jaworski threw a 63-yard touchdown to running back Billy Campfield to take the lead for good.
Over 12 minutes remained in the game at this point, but the Bears would only manage one first down during this time. With 7:31 left, Philly linebacker Jerry Robinson recovered a fumble from Bears receiver Dave Williams that set up Franklin's 34-yard field goal. Chicago got one last chance to score when linebacker Gary Campbell recovered a fumble from Eagles running back Wilbert Montgomery on the Philadelphia 28. But their ensuing drive ended with another turnover, this time an interception by defensive back Herm Edwards.
Carmichael finished the game with 6 receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Had the Bears won, they would have faced the number one seed Cowboys. Ineligible to play against Dallas, the Eagles instead played the number two seed Buccaneers in the Divisional Round while the Cowboys faced the Rams. The Eagles' wild card victory therefore ensured that a team other than the Cowboys, Rams or Minnesota Vikings would reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the Washington Redskins' appearance in the 1972 title game.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Bears and Eagles.
AFC: Houston Oilers 13, Denver Broncos 7
The Oilers managed to shut down the Broncos offense for most of the game en route to a 13–7 win, holding the Broncos to 216 yards and recording six sacks.
Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini's 41-yard completion to running back Ron Coleman set up the game's first score on Toni Fritsch 31-yard field goal. Denver then marched 80 yards in 13 plays to score on quarterback Craig Morton's 7-yard touchdown pass to running back Dave Preston. From that point on, the Oilers controlled the rest of the game. With less than 3 minutes left in the first half, Houston advanced 74 yards to score on running back Earl Campbell's 3-yard touchdown run. Although Campbell, Pastorini, and receiver Ken Burrough all missed the second half with injuries, the Oilers defense continued to dominate. In the fourth quarter, a 15-yard interception return to the Broncos 20-yard line by linebacker Gregg Bingham set up Fritsch's 20-yard field goal with 4:18 left in regulation.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Broncos and Oilers.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Eagles and Buccaneers.
After the game, it was revealed that the Oilers coaching staff was able to figure out the Chargers' coaches' signs as they signaled the play call from the sideline; this was one reason their defensive backs seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. "We pretty much knew ahead of time when they were going to pass, and where they were going to pass it." said Oilers defensive coordinator Ed Biles. It was a monumental upset against the heavily favored Chargers, who had scored at least 26 points in 10 games during the season and had defeated both eventual Super Bowl teams, the Rams and Steelers, by a combined scoring margin of 75–23.
It was the first AFC playoff game that was a rematch of an earlier AFL championship game.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Oilers and Chargers. Houston won both meetings when both teams were in the AFL.
Ferragamo completed only 9 of 21 passes and was intercepted twice, but still threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Staubach fared no better, finishing his final game 12/28 for 124 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Tyler rushed for 82 yards and caught two passes for 40. Waddy caught 3 passes for 97 yards and a score, and had a 3-yard carry. Dorsett rushed for 87 yards.
This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Rams [not counting the final NFL Playoff Bowl in Miami in January 1970, at the end of the 1969 season], and second consecutive. Dallas previously won three of the previous four meetings.
The Steelers scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory. A 78-yard drive ended with a field goal and running back Rocky Bleier scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown. Steelers running back Franco Harris rushed for 85 yards and caught 6 passes for 50 yards. Houston running back Earl Campbell, the NFL's leading rusher during the season, finished the game with just 15 yards on 17 carries.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Oilers and Steelers. Pittsburgh won the only previous meeting last season.
This was the first conference championship game in NFL history without a touchdown scored by either team.
Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19
This was the first Super Bowl meeting between the Rams and Steelers.