1978 Atlanta Falcons season

First playoff appearance for the Falcons August 2023 March 2026 Atlanta Falcons 1978 9–7 2nd NFC West Leeman Bennett Eddie LeBaron Rankin M. Smith Sr. Fulton County Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Eagles) 14–13Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Cowboys) 20–27 Falcons seasons 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 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. NFL draft 1978 NFL draft 1978 Atlanta Falcons 1 13 Mike Kenn Offensive tackle Michigan yes yes 2 43 Steve Stewart Linebacker Minnesota yes 3 70 Stan Waldemore Guard Nebraska 4 95 Brian Cabral Linebacker Colorado yes 5 125 Dennis Pearson Wide receiver San Diego State 6 152 Rodney Parker Wide receiver Tennessee State 7 167 Alfred Jackson Wide receiver Texas yes 7 179 James Wright Tight end Texas Christian yes 8 209 David Adkins Linebacker Ohio State 8 216 David Williams Offensive tackle Tennessee–Martin 9 236 Tom Pridemore Safety West Virginia yes 10 257 Ricky Patton Running back Jackson State yes 10 263 Ray Strong Running back UNLV yes 11 293 Scooter Reed Defensive back Baylor 12 320 Daria Butler Linebacker Oklahoma State no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1978_draft.htm 1978 Atlanta Falcons draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 22, 2014 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1978 Atlanta Falcons Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of player personnel – Tom Braatz Head coach – Leeman Bennett Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive backs – John North Receivers – Ted Plumb Offensive line – Bill Walsh Defensive line – Jim Champion Linebackers – Doug Shively Defensive backs – Jerry Glanville Roster 1978 Atlanta Falcons 10 Steve Bartkowski 16 Scott Hunter American football 14 June Jones 44 Bubba Bean 26 Mike Esposito American football 40 George Franklin 33 Ricky Patton y 24 Haskel Stanback 25 Ray Strong American football y 89 Wallace Francis 85 Alfred Jackson wide receiver, born 1955 y 81 Dennis Pearson y 82 Billy Ryckman 88 Lewis Gilbert American football y 86 Jim Mitchell tight end 83 James Wright tight end y 78 Mike Kenn y T 73 Phil McKinnely T 71 Marv Montgomery T 53 Paul Ryczek C 70 Dave Scott American football G 68 R.C. Thielemann G 57 Jeff Van Note C 72 Jim Bailey American football DT 74 Wilson Faumuina DT 77 Edgar Fields DE 69 Mike Lewis American football DT 75 Jeff Merrow DE 79 Jeff Yeates DE 50 Greg Brezina OLB 54 Fulton Kuykendall OLB 56 Ron McCartney OLB 52 Dewey McClain OLB 55 Ralph Ortega MLB 59 Robert Pennywell MLB 58 Steve Stewart American football y MLB 38 Rick Byas CB 36 Bob Glazebrook y FS 30 Ernie Jackson CB 22 Rolland Lawrence CB 45 Tom Moriarty SS 27 Tom Pridemore y FS 28 Frank Reed American football SS 6 John James American football P 4 Tim Mazzetti y K 61 Brent Adams American football T IR 66 Warren Bryant American football T IR 51 Brian Cabral y LB IR 32 Ray Easterling S IR 87 Claude Humphrey DE (Ret.) 10px 84 Alfred Jenkins WR IR —- Andy Spiva LB IR -- Garth TenNapel LB IR 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 Monday 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.http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1978-atl 1978 Atlanta Falcons Standings Game summaries https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1978.htm 1978 Atlanta Falcons Statistics & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 1 Atlanta Falcons 1978 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 1: Houston Oilers at Atlanta Falcons September 3, 1978 1:00 p.m. Oilers 7 0 7 0 Falcons 0 14 3 3 Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia 57,328 Jerry Markbreit NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Pro-Football-Reference.com Oilers Falcons June Jones10/23, 104 Yds, TD Bubba Bean14 Rush, 55 Yds Bubba Bean3 Rec, 37 Yds, TD HOU ATL collapsed 2 Falcons RecTD Bean Jones 38 good Steinfort run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 7 2 Falcons — — — Other Moriarty recovered blocked punt in end zone, Steinfort kick good 7 14 3 Falcons FG 30 Steinfort 14 17 4 Falcons FG 48 Steinfort 14 20 14 20 Week 2 Atlanta Falcons 1978 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 2: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams September 10, 1978 4:00 p.m. Falcons 0 0 0 0 Rams 0 3 0 7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California 46,201 Bob Frederic CBS Vin Scully and George Allen Pro-Football-Reference.com Falcons June Jones5/15, 38 Yds, INT Ricky Patton13 Rush, 24 Yds Ricky Patton3 Rec, 19 Yds Rams ATL LA collapsed 0 10 Week 3 Atlanta Falcons 1978 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 3: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary September 17 1:00 p.m. EDT Browns 0 17 0 7 Falcons 3 7 0 6 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta 56,648 79 F, relative humidity 70%, round (wind) 6 mph on Gene Barth NBC Jim Simpson (play–by–play) and Paul Warfield (color commentator) First quarter ATL – Steinfort 24 yard field goal Falcons 3, Browns 0 Second quarter CLE – Cockroft 43 yard field goal Browns 3, Falcons 3 CLE – Newsome 2 yard pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick) Browns 10, Falcons 3 ATL – Stanback 15 yard rush (Steinfort kick) Browns 10, Falcons 10 CLE – Rucker 27 yard pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick) Browns 17, Falcons 10 Third quarter No scoring plays Fourth quarter ATL – Strong 2 yard rush (kick failed) Browns 17, Falcons 16 CLE – Sipe 2 yard rush (Cockroft kick) Browns 24, Falcons 16 Top passers CLE – Brian Sipe 20/35, 219 yds, 2 TD ATL – Steve Bartkowski 7/15, 126 yds, 2 INT Top rushers CLE – Mike Pruitt 15 carr, 65 yds ATL – Haskel Stanback 7 carr, 31 yds, 1 TD Top receivers CLE – Dave Logan 5 rec, 63 yds ATL – Billy Ryckman 3 rec, 48 yds Turnovers CLE – 3 ATL – 4 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 vs. Detroit Lions Referee: Ben Dreith 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 Atlanta Falcons 1978 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 9: Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons October 30, 1978 9:00 p.m. Rams 0 7 0 0 Falcons 0 6 0 9 Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia 57,250 Cal Lepore ABC Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell Pro-Football-Reference.com Rams Falcons LA ATL collapsed 2 Falcons FG 21 Mazzetti 7 3 2 Falcons FG 37 Mazzetti 7 6 4 Falcons FG 30 Mazzetti 7 9 4 Falcons FG 26 Mazzetti 7 12 4 Falcons FG 37 Mazzetti 7 15 7 15 Week 10 vs. San Francisco 49ers Referee: Fred Silva 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 Postseason NFC Wild Card Game Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 13 Eagles 6 0 7 0 Falcons 0 0 0 14 December 24, 1978 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia 12:30 p.m. EST Fred Silva CBS Gary Bender and Hank Stram 49,447 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 Falcons 7 13 0 0 Cowboys 10 3 7 7 December 30, 1978 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 4:00 p.m. EST Cal Lepore CBS Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier 60,338 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 External links 1978 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com Atlanta Falcons Category:Atlanta Falcons seasons Atlanta