1978 Atlanta Falcons season
Encyclopedia
The 1978
Atlanta Falcons
season was the Falcon's 13th season. It was the first postseason appearance in franchise history.
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.
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was the Falcon's 13th season. It was the first postseason appearance in franchise history.
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 13 | Mike Kenn Mike Kenn Michael Lee Kenn is a former American football player who was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1st round of the 1978 NFL Draft. A 6'7", 275-lb. offensive tackle from the University of Michigan, Kenn played his entire 17-year NFL career with the Falcons from 1978 to 1994. He is notable for... |
Offensive Tackle | Michigan University of Michigan The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan... |
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Falcons points | Opponents | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | Sept. 3 | Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter... |
Win | 20 | 14 | 1-0 | |
| 2 | Sept. 10 | at Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
Loss | 0 | 10 | 1-1 | |
| 3 | Sept. 17 | Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 16 | 24 | 1-2 | |
| 4 | Sept. 24 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West... |
Loss | 9 | 14 | 1-3 | |
| 5 | Oct. 1 | New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 23 | 20 | 2-3 | |
| 6 | Oct. 8 | at Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
Loss | 7 | 31 | 2-4 | |
| 7 | Oct. 15 | Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
Win | 14 | 0 | 3-4 | |
| 8 | Oct. 22 | at San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
Win | 20 | 17 | 4-4 | |
| 9 | Oct. 30 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
Win | 15 | 7 | 5-4 | |
| 10 | Nov. 5 | San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
Win | 21 | 10 | 6-4 | |
| 11 | Nov. 12 | at New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League .... |
Win | 20 | 17 | 7-4 | |
| 12 | Nov. 19 | at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 7 | 13 | 7-5 | |
| 13 | Nov. 26 | New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League .... |
Win | 20 | 17 | 8-5 | |
| 14 | Dec. 3 | at Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL... |
Loss | 7 | 37 | 8-6 | |
| 15 | Dec. 10 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
Win | 20 | 17 | 9-6 | |
| 16 | Dec. 17 | at St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 21 | 42 | 9-7 | |
Standings
| NFC West NFC West The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St... |
||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams 1978 Los Angeles Rams season The 1978 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 41st year with the National Football League and the 33rd season in Los Angeles.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-NFC Divisional Playoff:*Los Angeles Rams 34, Minnesota Vikings 10... |
12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 316 | 245 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 240 | 290 |
| New Orleans Saints 1978 New Orleans Saints season The 1978 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints 12th season.-Offseason:* On August 5, the NFL played its first game in Mexico City. The New Orleans Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 14-7.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 281 | 298 |
| San Francisco 49ers 1978 San Francisco 49ers season The 1978 San Francisco 49ers season was their 29th season in the National Football League. The team began the season hoping to improve upon their previous output of 5-9, however, they instead started the season 0-4 for the second straight year, and this season also featured a nine game losing... |
2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 219 | 350 |
NFC Wild Card Game
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' "Doomsday Defense" limited Atlanta quarterback Steve BartkowskiSteve Bartkowski
Steven Joseph "Steve" Bartkowski is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams...
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.