1978–79 NFL playoffs
Finally the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, with the designated home team based on an annual rotation by conference.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This was and to this day remains the only playoff game to feature two Polish-born starting quarterbacks (Bartkowski and Jaworski were born in the USA of Polish descent).
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.
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.
Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach converted a 3rd and 16 with a 39-yard completion to Drew Pearson as he led the team 57 yards in 12 plays score on their opening drive with a 34-yard field goal by Rafael Septién.
Atlanta had to punt on their next drive, but Butch Johnson muffed the kick and Tom Moriarty recovered the ball for the Falcons on the Dallas 25-yard line.
But Atlanta got a big break on the ensuing kickoff when a 15-yard personal foul penalty against Dallas turned Dennis Pearson's 36-yard return into a 51-yard gain and gave them the ball on the Cowboys 40-yard line.
But on the next play, Tony Dorsett lost a fumble while being hit by Greg Brezina, and Falcons linebacker Dewey McClain recovered it on the Cowboys 30-yard line.
The Dallas defense managed to keep Atlanta out of the end zone, but Mazzetti kicked a 22-yard field goal to give them a 20-13 lead with 50 seconds left in the half.
Dallas then drove to the Falcons 35-yard line, but lost the ball on a fumbled snap in shotgun formation that was recovered by defensive back Tom Pridemore.
To make matters worse for Dallas, Staubach was knocked out of the game on the drive due to a massive hit from linebacker Robert Pennywell, though they did manage to prevent Atlanta from scoring as a result of an interception by Randy Hughes.
Later on, Bartkowski threw a pass that was deflected by Cliff Harris and intercepted by defensive back Aaron Kyle, who returned it 15 yards to the Falcons 41-yard line.
The next time Dallas got the ball, a bad Falcons punt gave them a first down on the Atlanta 30-yard line, where they drove to a 27-20 lead on Laidlaw's 1-yard touchdown run.
Houston receiver Ken Burrough caught a pass from Pastorini at the Pats 40-yard, broke through coverage from Mike Haynes, and took off for a 71-yard touchdown reception.
Aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave them a first down after failing to convert a 3rd down on their own 7-yard line, Houston drove 99 yards to score on Pastorini's 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Barber.
Then in the fourth quarter, they took advantage of a short field due to a poor punt by Cliff Parsley, scoring on Tom Owen's 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Russ Francis that cut their deficit to 24-14.
However, their efforts were dashed on their drive when linebacker Gregg Bingham intercepted an Owen pass and returned it 19 yards to the Patriot 18-yard line, setting up Campbell's 2-yard touchdown run to put the game away.
[4] at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania On a wet, slick, and slippery field, the Steelers dominated the Oilers by forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing 5 points.
Then, linebacker Jack Ham recovered a fumble at the Houston 17-yard line, which led to running back Rocky Bleier's 15-yard rushing touchdown.
First, Houston running back Ronnie Coleman lost a fumble, and moments later Pittsburgh wide receiver Lynn Swann caught a 29-yard touchdown reception.
As the third quarter neared a close, Waters recorded another interception and returned it to the Rams' 20, setting up quarterback Roger Staubach's 4-yard touchdown pass to Scott Laidlaw 58 seconds into the final period.
On Waters' interception, Pat Haden's throwing hand hit Randy White's helmet, breaking his thumb and knocking him out of the game.
The Cowboys closed out the scoring with 1:19 left in the game when linebacker Thomas Henderson intercepted a Ferragamo pass and returned it 68-yards for the final touchdown.
