1978 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1978 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 13th season. It was the first postseason appearance in franchise history with a 9–7 record. Hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in their first ever playoff game, the Falcons scored 2 TDs in their final 14 minutes to pull out a 14–13 win. A week later the Falcons were 14-point underdogs facing the Cowboys. The Falcons took a 20-13 lead into halftime, but the Cowboys battled back to take a 27-20 lead. With one last shot the Falcons fell inches short of a first down on the Cowboys' 32-yard line, as the Cowboys got the ball and ran down the clock.

1978 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerRankin M. Smith Sr.
Head coachLeeman Bennett
General managerEddie LeBaron
Home fieldFulton County Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs (Eagles) 14–13
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Cowboys) 20–27

NFL Draft
Main article: 1978 NFL Draft
1978 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Mike Kenn *  Offensive tackle Michigan
2 43 Steve Stewart  Linebacker Minnesota
3 70 Stan Waldemore  Guard Nebraska
4 95 Brian Cabral  Linebacker Colorado
5 125 Dennis Pearson  Wide Receiver San Diego State
6 152 Rodney Parker  Wide Receiver Tennessee State
7 167 Alfred Jackson  Wide Receiver Texas
7 179 James Wright  Tight end Texas Christian
8 209 David Adkins  Linebacker Ohio State
8 216 David Williams  Offensive tackle Tennessee–Martin
9 236 Tom Pridemore  Safety West Virginia
10 257 Ricky Patton  Running back Jackson State
10 263 Ray Strong  Running back UNLV
11 293 Scooter Reed  Defensive back Baylor
12 320 Daria Butler  Linebacker Oklahoma State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff
1978 Atlanta Falcons staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Roster
1978 Atlanta Falcons final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
GameDateOpponentResultFalcons pointsOpponentsRecordAttendance
1Sept. 3Houston OilersWin20141–0
57,328
2Sept. 10at Los Angeles RamsLoss0101–1
46,201
3Sept. 17Cleveland BrownsLoss16241–2
56,648
4Sept. 24at Tampa Bay BuccaneersLoss9141–3
58,073
5Oct. 1New York GiantsWin23202–3
47,765
6Oct. 8at Pittsburgh SteelersLoss7312–4
48,202
7Oct. 15Detroit LionsWin1403–4
51,172
8Oct. 22at San Francisco 49ersWin20174–4
44,235
9Oct. 30Los Angeles RamsWin1575–4
57,250
10Nov. 5San Francisco 49ersWin21106–4
55,468
11Nov. 12at New Orleans SaintsWin20177–4
70,323
12Nov. 19at Chicago BearsLoss7137–5
46,022
13Nov. 26New Orleans SaintsWin20178–5
55,121
14Dec. 3at Cincinnati BengalsLoss7378–6
25,336
15Dec. 10Washington RedskinsWin20179–6
54,176
16Dec. 17at St. Louis CardinalsLoss21429–7
40,022

[2]

Standings
NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(1) 12 4 0 .750 4–2 10–2 316 245 W1
Atlanta Falcons(4) 9 7 0 .563 5–1 8–4 240 290 L1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 281 298 W1
San Francisco 49ers 2 14 0 .125 0–6 1–11 219 350 L1

Game summaries

[3]

Week 1
Week 1: Houston Oilers at Atlanta Falcons
1 2 34Total
Oilers 7 0 7014
Falcons 0 14 3320

at Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Week 2
Week 2: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 000
Rams 0 3 0710

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California

Week 8 vs San Francisco 49ers

Atlanta erased a 17-7 deficit in the final 5:38 of the game, beating San Francisco on Tim Mazzetti's last-second, 29-yard field goal. Steve Bartkowski directed the comeback, hitting a 71-yard bomb to set up a 21-yard Mazzetti field goal, completing a 59-yard scoring pass to Billy Ryckman with 1:52 remaining and then finding Tim Mitchell with a 19-yard reception to set up a winning kick. This game was broadcast by CBS with announcers Vin Scully, George Allen and Jim Brown at the game.

Week 9
Week 9: Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons
1 2 34Total
Rams 0 7 007
Falcons 0 6 0915

at Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Postseason

NFC Wild Card Game
Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 13
1 2 34Total
Eagles 6 0 7013
Falcons 0 0 01414

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

The Falcons won their first playoff game in team history after they overcame a 13–0 deficit by scoring 2 touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the game.

NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas Cowboys 27, Atlanta Falcons 20
1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 13 0020
Cowboys 10 3 7727

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Dallas' "Doomsday Defense" limited Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski to only 8 completions in 23 attempts and intercepted him 3 times en route to victory. After the Falcons led 20–13 at halftime, the Cowboys scored 14 unanswered points in the second half.

References
  1. "1978 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  2. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1978-atl
  3. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1978.htm
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