1978–79 NFL playoffs

The National Football League playoffs for the 1978 season began on December 24, 1978. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, 35–31, on January 21, 1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
This was the first year that the playoffs expanded to a ten-team format, adding a second wild card team – a fifth seed – from each conference. The three division winners were seeded 1–2–3, and the two wild cards teams were seeded 4–5. The two wild card teams from each conference played each other in the first round. Dubbed the "Wild Card Playoffs", the games were hosted by the #4 seeds. In most years, both the AFC and NFC wild card games were played on Sunday.
The three division winners in each conference received a bye for the wild card weekend, and automatically advanced to the Divisional Playoffs. The surviving wild card team in each conference advanced to the Divisional Round and played at the #1 seed. However, a rule remained in place which prohibited two teams from the same division meeting in the Divisional Round. If the surviving wild card team was from the same division as the #1 seed, that team would instead play at the #2 seed, while the #1 seed would host the #3 seed.

Participants

Bracket

Schedule

In the United States, CBS televised the NFC playoff games, while NBC broadcast the AFC games and Super Bowl XIII.

Wild card playoffs

Sunday, December 24, 1978

NFC: Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 13

This was a matchup of two teams that had ended prolonged postseason droughts. The Falcons were in the playoffs for the first time in their 13-year history while the Eagles were playing their first playoff game since their victory in the 1960 NFL Championship Game.
Philadelphia had been decimated by problems at the placekicker position all year long. Starting kicker Nick Mike-Mayer had made just 8 of 17 field goal attempts before suffering a season-ending injury in week 12. To replace him, coach Dick Vermeil used punter Mike Michel. Michel had done some placekicking in college, so Vermeil assigned him both roles. This did not pay off, as Michel missed 3 of 12 extra points during the remainder of the season, performing so poorly that the Eagles started attempting fourth down conversions deep in opponent territory rather than field goals. Coming into this playoff game, Michel had not attempted a single field goal, and the Eagles' issues in the kicking game played a decisive role in their loss. Coincidentally, the Falcons kicker in this game, rookie Tim Mazzetti, had been cut by Philadelphia in the preseason.
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. In the first quarter, Philadelphia's Cleveland Franklin recovered a fumble from Billy Ryckman on a punt return at the Falcons 13-yard line, setting up wide receiver Harold Carmichael's 13-yard touchdown reception from Ron Jaworski. However, Michel missed the ensuing extra point, which later became costly.
Neither team scored again until the third quarter when the Eagles took advantage of another Atlanta special teams miscue, this time a dismal 17-yard punt by John James that gave them a first down on their 40-yard line. Aided by a roughing the passer penalty and a pair of receptions by Charlie Smith, Jaworski led the team 60 yards to score on Wilbert Montgomery's 1-yard rushing touchdown. Michel's extra point was partially deflected, but still went in to give the Eagles a 13–0 lead. Later in the period, Michel had a chance to put the team up by three scores, but he missed a 42-yard field goal attempt, the first field goal kick of his career.
Still, the Eagles seemed in control of the game going into the fourth quarter. And with 9:52 left, they appeared to be in prime position to secure a win when cornerback Bobby Howard intercepted Falcons QB Steve Bartkowski's pass, the 5th turnover of the day for Atlanta. The Eagles then moved the ball to Atlanta's 15-yard line, but with 8:16 to go, linebacker Fulton Kuykendall recovered a fumble from fullback Mike Hogan on the 13. A few plays later, faced with second down and 10 on the 26, Bartkowski launched a deep pass to Wallace Francis, who was tightly covered by defensive back Herm Edwards. Both players went up for the ball and came down with it, resulting in a simultaneous catch between each of them. Under NFL rules, a simultaneous catch goes to the receiver, so Atlanta kept the ball and gained 49 yards in what turned out to be a decisive play. Three plays later, Bartkowski found tight end Jim Mitchell wide open in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass, cutting the score to 13–7 at 4:56.
The Eagles went three-and-out on their next possession and had to punt ball back to the Falcons. Franklin tackled Ryckman for a 5-yard loss on the return, but committed a 15-yard facemask penalty in the process, giving Atlanta the ball on their 49-yard line. After 5 plays, Atlanta had moved only 12 yards. Faced with a crucial 3rd and 10 situation, Bartkowski went deep to Francis again, this time connecting with the receiver as he evaded safety Randy Logan to score on a 37-yard touchdown completion. With Mazzetti's extra point, the Falcons took their first lead of the game, 14–13, with 1:37 left in the game.
The Eagles had one last shot to win the game as Jaworski completed four passes to get them to Atlanta's 16-yard line with 13 seconds remaining, but Michel missed a 34-yard field goal attempt and the Falcons ran out the rest of the clock.
Bartkowski completed 18/32 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions. His top target was Francis, who caught 6 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. Jaworski completed 19/35 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles leading receiver was Smith, who caught 7 passes for 108 yards. This was and to this day remains the only playoff game to feature two Polish-born starting quarterbacks. Michel was released by the Eagles in the offseason after this game and never played in the NFL again.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Eagles and Falcons.

AFC: Houston Oilers 17, Miami Dolphins 9

Quarterback Dan Pastorini led the Oilers to an upset victory by passing for 306 yards. Houston outgained the Dolphins in total yards, 455-209, and forced 5 turnovers while only losing one on their end.
Image:1986 Jeno's Pizza - 43 - Dan Pastorini.jpg|thumb|right|Pastorini calling a play during the 1978 AFC wild card game
Miami managed to keep Houston running back Earl Campbell well contained in the first half, limiting him to just 16 yards on 13 carries, but they were unable to handle the passing attack of Pastorini, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 261 yards during that time. Meanwhile, Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese completed just 6 of 16 passes in the first two quarters.
The Dolphins scored first after Earnie Rhone recovered a fumbled punt from Robert Woods at the Houston 21-yard line, setting up quarterback Bob Griese's 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andre Tillman. However, the Oilers responded with an 11-play, 71-yard drive in which Pastorini completed 6 of 7 passes for 66 yards, the last one a 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Tim Wilson. Neither team scored again until the fourth quarter, despite several chances. In the second quarter, Pastorini completed a 55-yard pass to tight end Mike Barber on the Dolphins 9-yard line, but the drive ended with no points when Toni Fritsch's 28-yard field goal attempt was blocked by linebacker Kim Bokamper. The Oilers later drove to the Dolphins red zone with 14 seconds left in the half. On the next play, Pastorini completed a pass to Ken Burrough, but he was tackled short of the end zone and the clock ran out before the team could spike the ball to stop it.
In the third quarter, Miami blew a chance to take then lead when Garo Yepremian drove a 38-yard field goal attempt wide left. In the final period, Toni Fritsch made a 35-yard field goal to give the Oilers a 10-7 lead. Then linebacker Gregg Bingham intercepted a pass from Griese and returned it 4 yards to midfield. Campbell finally managed to get into gear with a 20-yard run on the ensuing drive, and eventually finished it off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The Dolphins closed out the scoring, but only when Pastorini ran out of the end zone for an intentional safety to run out the clock.
Despite his poor first half, Campbell finished the game with 84 rushing yards and a 13-yard reception. Wilson rushed for 76 yards and caught 5 passes for 40. Barber had 112 yards on 4 receptions, while Burroughs caught 6 passes for 103. Griese finished the game just 11/28 for 114 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Oilers and Dolphins.

Divisional playoffs

Saturday, December 30, 1978

AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 33, Denver Broncos 10

The Steelers dominated the Broncos by gaining 425 yards of total offense, and dominated Denver starting quarterback Craig Morton so effectively that his team gained just 49 yards on their first five possessions before he was replaced by Norris Weese in the second quarter, who ended up getting sacked 5 times.
After Denver scored first on a field goal, Pittsburgh responded by driving 66 yards in 8 plays to score on running back Franco Harris' 1-yard touchdown run, giving the team a 6-3 lead after Roy Gerela missed the extra point. Then on the Steelers' next drive, Harris ran 18 yards to the end zone for his second touchdown. In the second quarter, the Steelers increased their lead to 16-3 with Gerela's 24-yard field goal. However, linebacker Tom Jackson later recovered a fumble from Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw on the Steelers 49-yard line, where the Broncos went on to score on Dave Preston's 3-yard touchdown run that made the score 16-10. The Steelers responded with Gerela's second field goal of the day to take a 19-10 lead going into halftime.
In the third quarter, Denver mounted their most promising drive of the day, advancing the ball 73 yards. But it ended with no points when Joe Greene blocked Jim Turner's 29-yard field goal attempt. In the fourth quarter, Bradshaw threw two touchdowns, the first a 45-yarder to wide receiver John Stallworth. Then Dennis Winston recovered a fumble from Denver's Rick Upchurch on the ensuing kickoff, setting up Bradshaw's 38-yard touchdown pass. to wide receiver Lynn Swann.
Bradshaw completed 16 of 29 passes for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns, Stallworth had 10 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown, and Harris rushed for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Broncos and Steelers. Denver won the first meeting last year.

Denver leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games