The 1978 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's third season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). The Seahawks won nine games, giving the franchise its first winning season. Coach Jack Patera won the

National Football League Coach of the Year Award National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

at seasons end. Led by the third ranked offense, the team had some achievements. David Sims led the AFC in total touchdowns – 15, including 14 rushing – and the team had 28 rushing touchdowns, number two in the league. Steve Largent made his first Pro Bowl with 71 receptions and 8 touchdowns. Quarterback Jim Zorn earned his sole All-Pro honor of his career by making the second team. This would be the only All-Pro by a Seahawks quarterback until

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He has primarily played for the Seattle Seahawks. With the Sea ...

was selected in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. The defense, however, lagged far behind ranking 26th. Season highlights included defeating the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

twice and a last-second win over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. Also a memorable game was a 20–17 loss in overtime to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. Following an interception of a Jim Zorn pass off of a deflection, in overtime, the Broncos drove to the 1 yard line, but could not punch it in for a touchdown. Jim Turner missed an 18-yard field goal attempt, but the Seahawks were penalized for having 12 men on the field and the Broncos made the second kick. A 37–10 defeat in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in week 15 eliminated the Seahawks from playoff contention, but a 23–19 win at home against

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gave the team their first winning season.

Offseason

Draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Staff

Final roster

* Starters in bold. * (*) Denotes players that were selected for the 1979 Pro Bowl.

Schedule

Preseason

:Source: Seahawks Media Guides

Regular season

With the start of a 16-game season, inter-conference play began a rotating schedule. Divisional matchups had the AFC West playing the NFC Central. :Bold indicates division opponents. :Source: 1978 NFL season results1978 NFL season results
NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.

Standings

Game summaries

Preseason

Week P1: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week P2: at San Francisco 49ers

Week P3: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week P4: vs. Chicago Bears

Regular season

Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 3: at New York Jets

Week 4: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 5: at Denver Broncos

Week 6: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 7: at Green Bay Packers

Week 8: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 9: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 10: at Chicago Bears

Week 11: vs. Baltimore Colts

Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 13: at Oakland Raiders

Week 14: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 15: at San Diego Chargers

Week 16: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

References

External links

*
1978 Seattle Seahawks season at ESPN

* ttp://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/stats.nsf/Annual/1978-sea 1978 Seattle Seahawks Statisticsat jt-sw.com
1978 Seattle Seahawks Schedule
at jt-sw.com {{1978 NFL season by team

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Seattle Seahawks seasons 1978 in sports in Washington (state) 1970s in Seattle