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

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1978 Atlanta Falcons staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith, Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General Manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of Player Personnel – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head Coach – Leeman Bennett Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive Backs – John North Receivers – Ted Plumb Offensive Line – Bill Walsh			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Jim Champion Linebackers – Doug Shively Defensive Backs – Jerry Glanville

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Falcons points	Opponents	Record	Attendance
1	Sept. 3	Houston Oilers	Win	20	14	1–0	57,328
2	Sept. 10	at Los Angeles Rams	Loss	0	10	1–1	46,201
3	Sept. 17	Cleveland Browns	Loss	16	24	1–2	56,648
4	Sept. 24	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Loss	9	14	1–3	58,073
5	Oct. 1	New York Giants	Win	23	20	2–3	47,765
6	Oct. 8	at Pittsburgh Steelers	Loss	7	31	2–4	48,202
7	Oct. 15	Detroit Lions	Win	14	0	3–4	51,172
8	Oct. 22	at San Francisco 49ers	Win	20	17	4–4	44,235
9	Oct. 30	Los Angeles Rams	Win	15	7	5–4	57,250
10	Nov. 5	San Francisco 49ers	Win	21	10	6–4	55,468
11	Nov. 12	at New Orleans Saints	Win	20	17	7–4	70,323
12	Nov. 19	at Chicago Bears	Loss	7	13	7–5	46,022
13	Nov. 26	New Orleans Saints	Win	20	17	8–5	55,121
14	Dec. 3	at Cincinnati Bengals	Loss	7	37	8–6	25,336
15	Dec. 10	Washington Redskins	Win	20	17	9–6	54,176
16	Dec. 17	at St. Louis Cardinals	Loss	21	42	9–7	40,022

^[2]

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

Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 13

	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

Dallas Cowboys 27, Atlanta Falcons 20

	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

1. "1978 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
2. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1978-atl

External links

• 1978 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com