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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.
| 1978 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| General manager | Eddie LeBaron |
| Head coach | Leeman Bennett |
| Home field | Fulton County Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Eagles) 14–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Cowboys) 20–27 |
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 seven point 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.
| 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 | |||||
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Reserve
Rookies in italics |
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. | ||||||
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 |
Week 1
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Falcons | 0 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 1: Houston Oilers at Atlanta Falcons
at Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: September 3, 1978
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 57,328
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week 2
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rams | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 2: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California
- Date: September 10, 1978
- Game time: 4:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 46,201
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and George Allen
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Week 3
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Falcons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 3: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
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)
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7 vs. Detroit Lions
- Network: CBS
- Announcers: Vin Scully, George Allen and Jim Brown
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
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Falcons | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 9: Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons
at Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: October 30, 1978
- Game time: 9:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 57,250
- Referee: Cal Lepore
- TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week 10 vs. San Francisco 49ers
- TV Network: CBS
- Announcers: Frank Glieber and Johnny Unitas
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
NFC Wild Card Game
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 13
at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: December 24, 1978
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 49,447
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Hank Stram
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
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
Dallas Cowboys 27, Atlanta Falcons 20
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: December 30, 1978
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 60,338
- Referee: Cal Lepore
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
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.
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