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 Falcon's 13th season. It was the first postseason appearance in franchise history, despite the fact that the Falcons scored only 240 points (15 points per game), the lowest total in franchise history for a 16-game season.[1]
Contents
Offseason
NFL Draft
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, playing for the Atlanta Falcons, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1978-atl