1978 Atlanta Falcons season
| 1978 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Leeman Bennett |
| General manager | Eddie LeBaron |
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith, Sr. |
| Home field | Fulton County Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Round |
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.
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 | |||||
Personnel
Staff
| 1978 Atlanta Falcons staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
| |||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Falcons points | Opponents | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | Sept. 3 | Houston Oilers | Win | 20 | 14 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Sept. 10 | at Los Angeles Rams | Loss | 0 | 10 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | Sept. 17 | Cleveland Browns | Loss | 16 | 24 | 1–2 | |
| 4 | Sept. 24 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Loss | 9 | 14 | 1–3 | |
| 5 | Oct. 1 | New York Giants | Win | 23 | 20 | 2–3 | |
| 6 | Oct. 8 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | Loss | 7 | 31 | 2–4 | |
| 7 | Oct. 15 | Detroit Lions | Win | 14 | 0 | 3–4 | |
| 8 | Oct. 22 | at San Francisco 49ers | Win | 20 | 17 | 4–4 | |
| 9 | Oct. 30 | Los Angeles Rams | Win | 15 | 7 | 5–4 | |
| 10 | Nov. 5 | San Francisco 49ers | Win | 21 | 10 | 6–4 | |
| 11 | Nov. 12 | at New Orleans Saints | Win | 20 | 17 | 7–4 | |
| 12 | Nov. 19 | at Chicago Bears | Loss | 7 | 13 | 7–5 | |
| 13 | Nov. 26 | New Orleans Saints | Win | 20 | 17 | 8–5 | |
| 14 | Dec. 3 | at Cincinnati Bengals | Loss | 7 | 37 | 8–6 | |
| 15 | Dec. 10 | Washington Redskins | Win | 20 | 17 | 9–6 | |
| 16 | Dec. 17 | at St. Louis Cardinals | Loss | 21 | 42 | 9–7 | |
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 |
Postseason
NFC Wild Card Game
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: December 24, 1978
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 49,447
- 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
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: December 30, 1978
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 60,338
- 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.
References
- ↑ "1978 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1978-atl