# 1978 Atlanta Falcons season

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 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 ||||||

## 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. |||||||

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | 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
### Week 1

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Falcons | 0 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
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
Game information :
Oilers
Falcons
June Jones 10/23, 104 Yds, TD
Bubba Bean 14 Rush, 55 Yds
Bubba Bean 3 Rec, 37 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | HOU | ATL |
| 2 | | | | | Falcons | Bean 38-yard touchdown reception from Jones, Steinfort kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | | — | — | — | Falcons | Moriarty recovered blocked punt in end zone, Steinfort kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 3 | | | | | Falcons | 30-yard field goal by Steinfort | 14 | 17 |
| 4 | | | | | Falcons | 48-yard field goal by Steinfort | 14 | 20 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 14 | 20 |

### Week 2

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rams | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
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
Game information :
Falcons
June Jones 5/15, 38 Yds, INT
Ricky Patton 13 Rush, 24 Yds
Ricky Patton 3 Rec, 19 Yds
Rams :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ATL | LA |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 0 | 10 |

### Week 3

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Falcons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
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)
Game information :
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 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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Falcons | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
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
Game information :
Rams
Falcons :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | LA | ATL |
| 2 | | | | | Falcons | 21-yard field goal by Mazzetti | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Falcons | 37-yard field goal by Mazzetti | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | | | | | Falcons | 30-yard field goal by Mazzetti | 7 | 9 |
| 4 | | | | | Falcons | 26-yard field goal by Mazzetti | 7 | 12 |
| 4 | | | | | Falcons | 37-yard field goal by Mazzetti | 7 | 15 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 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 16
## Postseason
### NFC Wild Card Game

| Quarter | 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
* 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 |
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.