Journals

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
Timeline
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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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

1978 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	13	Mike Kenn *	Offensive tackle	Michigan
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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

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

</div>

</div> 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

</div>

</div> 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

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