1978 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1978 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 13th season. The Falcons only went 2-4 in their first 6 games. However, after such a blue-cold start to the season, they got back on the saddle and won 7 of their last 10, and 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 touchdowns in their final fourteen 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 (vs. 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
GameDateOpponentResultRecordAttendance
1September 3Houston OilersW 20–141–0
57,328
2September 10at Los Angeles RamsL 0–101–1
46,201
3September 17Cleveland BrownsL 16–241–2
56,648
4September 24at Tampa Bay BuccaneersL 9–141–3
58,073
5October 1New York GiantsW 23–202–3
47,765
6October 8at Pittsburgh SteelersL 7–312–4
48,202
7October 15Detroit LionsW 14–03–4
51,172
8October 22at San Francisco 49ersW 20–174–4
44,235
9October 30Los Angeles RamsW 15–75–4
57,250
10November 5San Francisco 49ersW 21–106–4
55,468
11November 12at New Orleans SaintsW 20–177–4
70,323
12November 19at Chicago BearsL 7–137–5
46,022
13November 26New Orleans SaintsW 20–178–5
55,121
14December 3at Cincinnati BengalsL 7–378–6
25,336
15December 10Washington RedskinsW 20–179–6
54,176
16December 17at St. Louis CardinalsL 21–429–7
40,022

[2]

  • Note: Division opponents in bold text.

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

Game information

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

Game information

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
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.

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. "1978 Atlanta Falcons".
  3. "1978 Atlanta Falcons Statistics & Players".
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