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1978 Pro Football Yearbook*
The 1978 Pro Football season was one of the more memorable seasons of the
1970s, capped off by a championship game shoot-out between Pittsburgh's
storied "Steel Curtain" defense and Dallas' high-tech offensive flash.
Both clubs demonstrated why they were conference champs, with a
breath-taking 35-31 Pittsburgh win that was sealed only after a last-gasp
Dallas comeback was turned back in the final seconds.
Leading up to that game was a season filled with highlight-reel moments
from now-legendary players and teams.
In the "A" conference, Pittsburgh bludgeoned its way to the championship
with its stiff defense and a powerful offense that featured power-running
and a deep-strike wide receiver duo that accounted for 20 touchdowns on
101 catches. Pittsburgh's playoff run was not without challenges from
several other talented clubs. In their own division, Houston proved to be
a formidable rival, led by "The Tyler Rose" and their folksy coach with
the ten-gallon cowboy hat. Their long-running feud went all the way to the
conference title, where Pittsburgh rang up an impressive 34-5 win, despite
miserable playing conditions in a driving, cold rain at Three Rivers
Stadium. In the east, New England featured a highly effective "running
back by committee" arrangement which averaged nearly five yards a carry.
Miami's veteran defense registered three shutouts and held six other
opponents to a touchdown or less. Another legendary defense made its home
out west, where Denver's rabid Mile-High fans cheered the "Orange Crush."
Three other western clubs each had winning records and playoff potential;
Oakland, with its cast of seasoned veterans; San Diego, with its
high-octane passing attack; and Seattle, a new club in only its third year
of play, spurred on by a cast of over-achieving young players and a
hard-driving coach.
In the "N" conference, Dallas made a smooth, sustained drive into the
championship game. The only other conference club that could play on
Dallas' level was Los Angeles, which breezed to a divisional title in the
west. Ultimately, these two clubs met in the conference final, and Dallas
posted a 28-0 shutout win. Minnesota's aging squad, led by its 38 year-old
scrambling quarterback, made a final playoff appearance by backing into a
divisional title despite an 8-7-1 record. Thanks to the expanded playoff
format, there were two new faces in the post-season crowd. Philadelphia,
with its "gung-ho" coach, overcame early problems and made the playoffs on
the final game of the season when Minnesota and Green Bay both lost. They
were joined in the first round by an Atlanta squad making its first-ever
post-season appearance. In the end, though, no one in the senior
conference could match up with Dallas' deep and talented squad.
With Second Seasons 1978 Pro Football Yearbook, you can re-live this rich
and historic season in professional football. You get all twenty-eight
teams--over 1200 players* individually-rated.
*Abbreviated names are used to
represent real-life pro football players in this yearbook. Players are identified by six-to-eight
letter "codes," such as "rog.staub" or "tony.dors."
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