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

The 1978 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 13th season. After losing four of their first six games, Atlanta rebounded to win seven of their last ten, and their 9-7 record was the third best in a weak NFC. The NFC West runners-up thus not only secured their first-ever postseason berth in franchise history, but earned a home playoff game under the expanded ten team format.

Hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in their first ever playoff game, the Falcons scored two touchdowns in their final fourteen minutes to pull out a 14–13 win. In the divisional round, the Falcons were 14-point underdogs facing the Dallas Cowboys. Atlanta took a 20-13 lead into halftime, but the Cowboys came back to take a 27-20 lead. In their final drive, the Falcons fell inches short of a first down on the Cowboys' 32-yard line, as Dallas got the ball and ran down the clock.

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


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 3 Houston Oilers W 20–14 1–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,328
2 September 10 at Los Angeles Rams L 0–10 1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 46,201
3 September 17 Cleveland Browns L 16–24 1–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 56,648
4 September 24 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 9–14 1–3 Tampa Stadium 58,073
5 October 1 New York Giants W 23–20 2–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 47,765
6 October 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–31 2–4 Three Rivers Stadium 48,202
7 October 15 Detroit Lions W 14–0 3–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 51,172
8 October 22 at San Francisco 49ers W 20–17 4–4 Candlestick Park 44,235
9 October 30 Los Angeles Rams W 15–7 5–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,250
10 November 5 San Francisco 49ers W 21–10 6–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,468
11 November 12 at New Orleans Saints W 20–17 7–4 Louisiana Superdome 70,323
12 November 19 at Chicago Bears L 7–13 7–5 Soldier Field 46,022
13 November 26 New Orleans Saints W 20–17 8–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,121
14 December 3 at Cincinnati Bengals L 7–37 8–6 Riverfront Stadium 25,336
15 December 10 Washington Redskins W 20–17 9–6 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 54,176
16 December 17 at St. Louis Cardinals L 21–42 9–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 40,022
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[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
Period 1 2 34Total
Oilers 7 0 7014
Falcons 0 14 3320

at Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 2

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

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California

Game information

Week 3

Week 3: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 0 17 0724
Falcons 3 7 0616

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta

  • Date: September 17
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), relative humidity 70%, round (wind) 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 56,648
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson (play–by–play) and Paul Warfield (color commentator)
  • [1]
Game information

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7 vs. Detroit Lions

Steve Bartkowski threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Billy Ryckman early in the second quarter and Bubba Bean erupted for a 25-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the game as the Falcons got a critical win to stay alive in the NFC Playoff hunt. The Falcons defense also played a part in their win with two brilliant goal line stands. It was the first home shutout in Falcons History. The Lions' woeful offense could produce only 22 rushing yards.

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 7 007
Falcons 0 6 0915

at Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 10 vs. San Francisco 49ers

Steve Bartkowski, who suffered a separate shoulder last Monday, ran for one touchdown and threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Wallace Francis as Atlanta spoiled the head coaching debutof the 49ers' Fred O'Connor who replaced the fired Pete McCulley on Tuesday. San Francisco's O.J. Simpson suffered a shoulder separation early in the second period. Simpson had carried 5 times for only 15 yards before the injury. Atlanta's win help keep their playoff hopes alive for a wild card berth at 6-4 the same record as the Cowboys and the Vikings.

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Postseason

NFC Wild Card Game

Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 13
Period 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
Period 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. ^ "1978 Atlanta Falcons".
  3. ^ "1978 Atlanta Falcons Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

External links

Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons seasons
1978 NFL season
Categories