1978 NFL season

Infobox NFL
year = 1978
NFLchampion = Pittsburgh Steelers
regular_season = September 2 1978 - December 18 1978
playoffs_start = December 24 1978
AFCchampion = Pittsburgh Steelers
NFCchampion = Dallas Cowboys
sb_name = XIII
sb_date = January 21 1979
sb_site = Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
pb_date = January 29 1979

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. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference. The wild card teams would play each other with the winner advancing to the playoff round of eight teams.

The season ended with Super Bowl XIII when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys.

Major rule changes

*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. 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.
*Hurdling is no longer a foul.
*A seventh official, the Side Judge, is added to the officiating crew to help rule on legalities downfield.

Division Races

Starting in 1978, 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. The tiebraker rules were based on head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

National Football Conference