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 games, which it remained in place until 2021 when it was increased to 17 games. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference. The wild card teams played each other, with the winner advancing to the playoff round of eight teams.^[1]

1978 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 2 – December 18, 1978
Playoffs
Start date	December 24, 1978
AFC Champions	Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl XIII
Date	January 21, 1979
Site	Orange Bowl, Miami
Champions	Pittsburgh Steelers
Pro Bowl
Date	January 29, 1979
Site	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
← 1977 NFL seasons 1979 →

Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

Seahawks

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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini in the 1978 AFC wild card game

The season ended with Super Bowl XIII when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

The average salary for a player in 1978 was under $62,600, up 13.2 percent over the previous year. Fran Tarkenton was the highest-paid quarterback at $360,000 and running back O. J. Simpson was the highest paid player, at just under $733,400.^[2]

Draft

The 1978 NFL Draft was held from May 2 to 3 at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel. With the first pick, the Houston Oilers selected running back Earl Campbell of Texas, the Heisman Trophy winner.

New officials

Future referees Tom Dooley, Dale Hamer and Dick Hantak were among those entering the league. Bernie Ulman, the head linesman for Super Bowl I and referee for Super Bowl IX, retired prior to the season, which left the NFL with only 14 crews for the 1978 season. Dooley (103), Hamer (104) and Hantak (105) were among the first officials to wear triple-digit numbers, joined by Bob Boylston (101), Gene Carrabine (102), Al Jury (106), Jim Kearney (107), Bob McLaughlin (108), Sid Semon (109), and Jim Osborne (110).

Major rule changes

The league passed major rule changes to encourage offensive scoring.^[3] In 1977 – the last year of the so-called "Dead Ball Era" – teams scored an average of 17.2 points per game, the lowest total since 1942.^[4]

• To open up the passing game, defenders are permitted to make contact with receivers only to a point of five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. This applies only to the time before the ball is thrown, at which point any contact is pass interference. Previously, contact was allowed anywhere on the field. This is usually referred to as the "Mel Blount Rule"
• The offensive team may only make one forward pass during a play from scrimmage, but only if the ball does not cross the line and return behind the line prior to the pass.
• Double touching of a forward pass is legal, but batting a pass towards the opponent's end zone is illegal. Previously, a second offensive player could not legally catch a deflected pass unless a defensive player had touched it. This is usually referred to as the "Mel Renfro Rule". During a play in Super Bowl V, Baltimore Colts receiver Eddie Hinton tipped a pass intended for him. Renfro, the Cowboys defensive back, made a stab at the ball and it was ruled that he tipped it ever so slightly (which he denied) into the arms of Colts tight end John Mackey, who ran for a touchdown. Later, this rule was also the one in question during the Immaculate Reception in 1972. But despite these two incidents, the rule change did not occur until this season.
• The pass blocking rules were extended to permit extended arms and open hands.
• The penalty for intentional grounding is reduced from a loss of down and 15 yards to a loss of down and 10 yards from the previous spot (or at the spot of the foul if the spot is 10 yards or more behind the line of scrimmage). If the passer commits the foul in his own end zone, the defense scores a safety.
• A five-yard penalty and ten-second runoff is to be applied if a team intentionally commits a penalty or foul to stop the clock.
• Hurdling is no longer a foul.
• A seventh official, the Side Judge, is added to the officiating crew to help rule on legalities downfield and serve as a second umpire on field goals and extra points.^[3] The addition of fifteen officials (one per crew) forced three-digit numbers to be used for the first time. (The sixth official (line judge) was added thirteen years earlier.)
• All stadiums must have arrows by the numeric yard markers indicating the closer goal line.

Regular season

New interconference scheduling

The change to a 16-game season also marked the start of a new scheduling format that saw a division in one conference play a division in another conference, rotating every season and repeating the process every three years. A change was also made to non-divisional opponents in a team's own conference, which became based on divisional positions from the previous season.^[1][5] Previously, teams played rotating groups of opponents in the other conference and in other divisions of their own conference, although some opponents were cut in 1976 and 1977 to allow for games against the Seahawks and Buccaneers.^[6] This format remains in effect, though it has been slightly modified over the years, most recently with the addition of two more divisions in 2002.

The interconference matchups for 1978 were as follows:

• AFC East vs. NFC East
• AFC Central vs. NFC West
• AFC West vs. NFC Central

Division races

Starting in 1978, and continuing through 1989 (except 1982), ten teams qualified for the playoffs: the winners of each of the divisions, and two wild-card teams in each conference. The two wild cards would meet for the right to face whichever of the three division winners had the best overall record (or, if the winner of the wild-card playoff was from the same division as that team, the division winner with the second best overall record). The tiebreaker rules were based on head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents' records, and conference play.

National Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		WildCard		WildCard
1	3 teams	1–0	Chi,GB	1–0	3 teams	1–0
2	Dal,Was	2–0	Chi,GB	2–0	L.A.	2–0
3	Washington	3–0	Chi.	3–0	L.A.	3–0
4	Washington	4–0	G.B.	3–1	L.A.	4–0	Chi.	3–1	Dal.	3–1
5	Washington	5–0	G.B.	4–1	L.A.	5–0	Chi.	3–2	3 tms	3–2
6	Washington	6–0	G.B.	5–1	L.A.	6–0	Dal.	4–2	Chi.	3–3
7	Washington	6–1	G.B.	6–1	L.A.	7–0	Dal.	5–2	Phi.	4–3
8	Washington	6–2	G.B.	6–2	L.A.	7–1	Dal.	6–2	NYG	5–3
9	Washington	7–2	G.B.	7–2	L.A.	7–2	Dal.	6–3	Atl	5–4
10	Washington	7–3	G.B.	7–3	L.A.	8–2	Atl.	6–4	Min.	6–4
11	Washington	8–3	Min.	7–4	L.A.	9–2	Atl.	7–4	Dal.	7–4
12	Washington	8–4	Min.	7–5	L.A.	10–2	Dal.	8–4	Atl.	7–5
13	Dal.	9–4	Min.	7–5–1	L.A.	10–3	Atl.	8–5	Washington	8–5
14	Dal.	10–4	Min.	8–5–1	L.A.	11–3	G.B.	8–5–1	Atl.	8–6
15	Dal.	11–4	Min.	8–6–1	L.A.	11–4	Atl.	9–6	G.B.	8–6–1
16	Dallas	12–4	Minnesota	8–7–1	Los Angeles	12–4	Atlanta	9–7	Philadelphia	9–7

American Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		WildCard		WildCard
1	NYJ	1–0	Cle,Pit	1–0	3 teams	1–0
2	NYJ	2–0	Cle,Pit	2–0	4 teams	1–1
3	NYJ	2–1	Cle,Pit	3–0	Den.	2–1	Cle,Pit	3–0	Hou	2–1
4	NYJ	2–2	Pitt	4–0	Den.	3–1	Cle.	3–1	Hou	2–2
5	Mia.	3–2	Pitt	5–0	Den.	4–1	Hou.	3–2	N.E.	3–2
6	Mia.	4–2	Pitt	6–0	Den.	4–2	N.E.	4–2	Oak.	4–2
7	Mia.	5–2	Pitt	7–0	Den.	5–2	N.E.	5–2	Oak.	5–2
8	N.E.	6–2	Pitt	7–1	Den.	5–3	Hou.	5–3	NYJ	5–3
9	N.E.	7–2	Pitt	8–1	Den.	6–3	Mia.	6–3	Hou.	5–4
10	N.E.	8–2	Pitt	9–1	Den.	6–4	Mia.	7–3	Hou.	6–4
11	N.E.	8–3	Pitt	9–2	Den.	7–4	Mia.	8–3	Hou.	7–4
12	N.E.	9–3	Pitt	10–2	Den.	8–4	Hou.	8–4	Mia.	8–4
13	N.E.	10–3	Pitt	11–2	Den.	8–5	Hou.	9–4	Mia.	8–5
14	N.E.	10–4	Pitt	12–2	Den.	9–5	Hou.	9–5	Mia.	9–5
15	N.E.	11–4	Pitt	13–2	Den.	10–5	Hou.	10–5	Mia.	10–5
16	New England	11–5	Pittsburgh	14–2	Denver	10–6	Miami	11–5	Houston	10–6

Final standings

AFC East view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK New England Patriots^(2) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 358 286 L1 Miami Dolphins^(4) 11 5 0 .688 5–3 8–4 372 254 W3 New York Jets 8 8 0 .500 6–2 7–5 359 364 L2 Buffalo Bills 5 11 0 .313 2–6 4–10 302 354 W1 Baltimore Colts 5 11 0 .313 1–7 3–9 240 421 L5 AFC Central view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Pittsburgh Steelers^(1) 14 2 0 .875 5–1 11–1 356 195 W5 Houston Oilers^(5) 10 6 0 .625 4–2 8–4 283 298 L1 Cleveland Browns 8 8 0 .500 1–5 4–8 334 356 L1 Cincinnati Bengals 4 12 0 .250 2–4 2–10 252 284 W3 AFC West view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Denver Broncos^(3) 10 6 0 .625 7–1 8–4 282 198 L1 Oakland Raiders 9 7 0 .563 3–5 5–7 311 283 W1 Seattle Seahawks 9 7 0 .563 4–4 6–6 345 358 W1 San Diego Chargers 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 355 309 W3 Kansas City Chiefs 4 12 0 .250 1–7 4–10 243 327 L2

NFC East view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Dallas Cowboys^(2) 12 4 0 .750 7–1 9–3 384 208 W6 Philadelphia Eagles^(5) 9 7 0 .563 4–4 6–6 270 250 W1 Washington Redskins 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 273 283 L5 St. Louis Cardinals 6 10 0 .375 3–5 6–6 248 296 W1 New York Giants 6 10 0 .375 2–6 5–9 264 298 L1 NFC Central view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Minnesota Vikings^(3) 8 7 1 .531 5–2–1 7–4–1 294 306 L2 Green Bay Packers 8 7 1 .531 5–2–1 6–5–1 249 269 L2 Detroit Lions 7 9 0 .438 4–4 5–7 290 300 W2 Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 3–5 7–5 253 274 W2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 2–6 3–11 241 259 L4 NFC West view talk edit 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

Tiebreakers

• New England finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on better division record (6–2 to Dolphins' 5–3).
• Buffalo finished ahead of Baltimore in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Oakland, Seattle, and San Diego finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively, in the AFC West based on better record against common opponents^[7] (6–2 to Seahawks' 5–3 and Chargers' 4–4).
• Minnesota finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better head-to-head record (1–0–1).
• Los Angeles was top NFC seed over Dallas based on better head-to-head record (1–0).
• Detroit finished ahead of Chicago in the NFC Central based on better division record (4–4 to Bears' 3–5).
• Atlanta was the first NFC Wild Card based on better record against common opponents than Philadelphia (5–2 to Eagles' 5–3).
• St. Louis finished ahead of N.Y. Giants in the NFC East based on better division record (3–5 to Giants' 2–6).

Playoffs

Main article: 1978–79 NFL playoffs

Note: The Pittsburgh Steelers (the AFC 1 seed) did not play the Houston Oilers (the 5 seed), nor did the Los Angeles Rams (the NFC 1 seed) play the Atlanta Falcons (the 4 seed), in the Divisional playoff round because those teams were in the same division.

						Dec 31 – Schaefer Stadium
						5	Houston	31
	Dec 24 – Miami Orange Bowl										Jan 7 – Three Rivers Stadium
						2*	New England	14
						AFC
	5	Houston	17								5	Houston	5
						Dec 30 – Three Rivers Stadium
	4	Miami	9								1	Pittsburgh	34
											AFC Championship
						3	Denver	10
																Jan 21 – Miami Orange Bowl
						1*	Pittsburgh	33
						Divisional playoffs
	Wild Card playoffs															A1	Pittsburgh	35
						Dec 30 – Texas Stadium
																N2	Dallas	31
																Super Bowl XIII
						4	Atlanta	20
	Dec 24 – Fulton County Stadium										Jan 7 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
						2*	Dallas	27
						NFC
	5	Philadelphia	13								2	Dallas	28
						Dec 31 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	4	Atlanta	14								1	Los Angeles	0
											NFC Championship
						3	Minnesota	10
						1*	Los Angeles	34

This box:

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Statistical leaders

Team

Points scored	Dallas Cowboys (384)
Total yards gained	New England Patriots (5,965)
Yards rushing	New England Patriots (3,165) then NFL record
Yards passing	San Diego Chargers (3,375)
Fewest points allowed	Pittsburgh Steelers (195)
Fewest total yards allowed	Los Angeles Rams (3,893)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Dallas Cowboys (1,721)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Buffalo Bills (1,960)

Individual

Scoring	Frank Corral, Los Angeles Rams (118 points)
Touchdowns	David Sims, Seattle Seahawks (15 TDs)
Most field goals made	Frank Corral, Los Angeles Rams (29 FGs)
Rushing attempts	Walter Payton, Chicago Bears (333)
Rushing yards	Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers (1,450 yards)
Rushing touchdowns	David Sims, Seattle Seahawks (14 TDs)
Passes completed	Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings (345)
Pass attempts	Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings (572)
Passing yards	Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings (3,468 yards)
Passer rating	Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys (84.9 rating)
Passing touchdowns	Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers (28 TDs)
Pass receiving	Rickey Young, Minnesota Vikings (88 catches)
Pass receiving yards	Wesley Walker, New York Jets (1,169 yards)
Receiving touchdowns	John Jefferson, San Diego Chargers (13 TDs)
Punt returns	Rick Upchurch, Denver Broncos (13.7 average yards)
Kickoff returns	Steve Odom, Green Bay Packers (27.1 average yards)
Interceptions	Thom Darden, Cleveland Browns (10)
Punting	Pat McInally, Cincinnati Bengals (43.1 average yards)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Terry Bradshaw, quarterback, Pittsburgh
Coach of the Year	Jack Patera, Seattle
Offensive Player of the Year	Earl Campbell, running back, Houston Oilers
Defensive Player of the Year	Randy Gradishar, linebacker, Denver
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Earl Campbell, running back, Houston Oilers
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Al Baker, defensive end, Detroit Lions
Man of the Year	Roger Staubach, quarterback, Dallas
Comeback Player of the Year	John Riggins, running back, Washington

Coaching changes

Offseason

• Buffalo Bills: Jim Ringo was fired. Chuck Knox then joined the Bills after leaving the Los Angeles Rams.
• Chicago Bears: Jack Pardee resigned to join the Washington Redskins. Neill Armstrong was named as the Bears' new head coach.
• Cleveland Browns: Sam Rutigliano was hired as the team's new head coach. Forrest Gregg was fired before the last game of the 1977 season. Defensive coordinator Dick Modzelewski served as interim during the team's final game in 1977.
• Detroit Lions: Tommy Hudspeth was fired and replaced by Monte Clark.
• Kansas City Chiefs: Marv Levy was hired as head coach. After an 0–5 start in 1977, Paul Wiggin was fired and defensive backs coach Tom Bettis was named interim.
• Los Angeles Rams: Chuck Knox left to join the Bills. George Allen, who previously coached the Rams from 1966 to 1970, was hired as Knox's replacement, but was fired after two exhibition games. Defensive coordinator Ray Malavasi was then promoted to head coach.
• New Orleans Saints: Hank Stram was fired and replaced by Dick Nolan.
• St. Louis Cardinals: Don Coryell left, and Bud Wilkinson was hired as the new Cardinals head coach.
• San Francisco 49ers: Ken Meyer was fired and replaced by Pete McCulley.
• Washington Redskins: George Allen was replaced by Jack Pardee.

In-season

• Cincinnati Bengals: Bill Johnson was replaced by Homer Rice after the Bengals started 0–5.
• New England Patriots: The team suspended Chuck Fairbanks for the last regular season game. Fairbanks had been in talks all season to join the University of Colorado Buffaloes, breaching his contract with the Patriots. Coordinators Hank Bullough and Ron Erhardt took over as co-interim head coaches for the Week 16 game. Fairbanks was reinstated as head coach for the playoffs, but left in the off-season to join Colorado.
• San Diego Chargers: Tommy Prothro was fired after a 1–3 start, including the "Holy Roller" loss to the Oakland Raiders. He was replaced by Don Coryell.
• San Francisco 49ers: Pete McCulley was fired after a 1–8 start. Fred O'Connor served as interim for the last seven games.

Uniform changes

• The Atlanta Falcons switched from white to gray pants. TV numbers were moved from the sleeves to the shoulders, and the Falcon logo on the helmet was repeated on each sleeve. Numbers on white jerseys changed from black to red.
• The Baltimore Colts switched from gray to white face masks.
• The Denver Broncos wore orange pants with their white jerseys for the first time since 1971.
• The New York Jets introduced new uniforms, switching from white helmets and gray face masks to green helmets and white face masks. They also unveiled a new logo featuring a stylized "JETS" with a silhouette of a modern jet airplane extending to the right from the "J".
• The Washington Redskins switched from gray to gold face masks.

Television

ABC, CBS, and NBC each signed four-year contracts to renew their rights to broadcast Monday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively. The new contracts are adjusted for the expanded season, with CBS awarded the rights to the new NFC wild card game, and NBC the rights to the new AFC wild card game. The teams of Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen and Curt Gowdy and John Brodie began the season as NBC's co-head crews, while Jim Simpson was demoted from #2 play-by-play. This would be Gowdy's last season on NBC as network executives wanted to promote Enberg to #1, but let Gowdy call the Super Bowl. Mike Adamle joined NBC's pregame show NFL '78 as an analyst. Meanwhile, former Miss Ohio USA Jayne Kennedy replaced Phyllis George as reporter on The NFL Today.^[8]

References

1. "NFL expands season, increases playoff berths in 1978 changes". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. March 30, 1977. p. 30.
2. "Who makes the money". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. February 9, 1979. p. 2C.
3. "NFL Moves to Protect Passer, Open Offenses". Toledo Blade. AP. March 15, 1978. p. 37.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com: NFL Season By Season Scoring Summary, teams averaged 16.2 points per game in 1942.
5. Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, pp. 11-13 ISBN 0786473517
6. Urena; Pro Football Schedules, p. 10
7. "Past NFL standings" (PDF). NFL. Retrieved December 28, 2012. Oakland finished ahead of Seattle and San Diego based on common opponents
8. Brulia, Tim. "A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 2" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers.

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)