NFL game summary for 10/15/1978:
Steve Bartkowski fired a 24-yard touchdown pass to Billy Ryckman and rookie safety Tom Pridemore made two key fourth down plays deep in Falcons territory to help preserve victory. Pridemore stopped Horace King on fourth-and-goal from the Falcons 1 in the third period and sacked Gary Danielson on fourth-and-five from the Atlanta 12 in the final quarter. Bubba Bean's 25-yard run completed the scoring with just 71 seconds remaining. The Atlanta defense allowed a club record of only 22 yards rushing and posted their first home field shutout in 13 years.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 143.8 (15) | 92.3 (28) | 236.2 (26) | 7 |
| DEFENSE | 148.3 (17) | 128.0 (4) | 276.3 (8) | 15 | |
 | OFFENSE | 111.7 (26) | 105.3 (26) | 217.0 (28) | 18 |
| DEFENSE | 128.3 (11) | 144.3 (9) | 272.7 (6) | 16 |
Line: Falcons by 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions (1-6-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlanta Falcons (3-4-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
( 0- 7) ATL Billy Ryckman 24 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick)
( 0-14) ATL Bubba Bean 25 yard rush (Tim Mazzetti kick)
DET ATL
First Downs: 13 15
Rushes-yards: 26-22 35-126
Yards/rush: 0.8 3.6
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 14-29-195-2 11-17-162-0
Sacked-yards: 4-48 5-40
Net pass yards: 147 122
Net yards/pass: 4.5 5.5
Total net yards: 169 248
Total plays: 59 (44% run) 57 (61% run)
Yards/play: 2.9 4.4
Fumbles-lost: 3-1 0-0
Turnovers: 3 0
Penalties-yards: 10-80 10-72
Attendance: 51,172
Passing:
DET: Gary Danielson, 14 of 29 for 195 yards (2 int) ATL: Steve Bartkowski, 11 of 17 for 162 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
DET: Dexter Bussey, 14 for 0 yards; Horace King, 11 for 20 yards; Gary Danielson, 1 for 2 yards ATL: Bubba Bean, 15 for 78 yards and 1 TD; Haskel Stanback, 10 for 25 yards; Ricky Patton, 5 for 23 yards; Steve Bartkowski, 4 for 5 yards; Wallace Francis, 1 for -5 yards
Receiving:
DET: Freddie Scott, 4 for 76 yards; Jesse Thompson, 3 for 42 yards; David Hill, 2 for 27 yards; Dexter Bussey, 2 for 24 yards; Horace King, 2 for 22 yards; Luther Blue, 1 for 4 yards ATL: Billy Ryckman, 3 for 41 yards and 1 TD; Wallace Francis, 3 for 36 yards; Bubba Bean, 2 for 15 yards; Ricky Patton, 1 for 32 yards; Dennis Pearson, 1 for 23 yards; Haskel Stanback, 1 for 15 yards
Kick returns:
DET: Jesse Thompson, 1 for 29 yards; Freddie Scott, 1 for 23 yards ATL: Dennis Pearson, 1 for 25 yards
Punt returns:
DET: Freddie Scott, 5 for 29 yards ATL: Billy Ryckman, 1 for 0 yards
Interceptions:
ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 1 for 0 yards; Tom Pridemore, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
DET: Tom Skladany, 6 for 289 yards ATL: John James, 8 for 322 yards
Field Goals:
DET: Benny Ricardo, 0/1
DET: Gary Danielson, 14 of 29 for 195 yards (2 int) ATL: Steve Bartkowski, 11 of 17 for 162 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
DET: Dexter Bussey, 14 for 0 yards; Horace King, 11 for 20 yards; Gary Danielson, 1 for 2 yards ATL: Bubba Bean, 15 for 78 yards and 1 TD; Haskel Stanback, 10 for 25 yards; Ricky Patton, 5 for 23 yards; Steve Bartkowski, 4 for 5 yards; Wallace Francis, 1 for -5 yards
Receiving:
DET: Freddie Scott, 4 for 76 yards; Jesse Thompson, 3 for 42 yards; David Hill, 2 for 27 yards; Dexter Bussey, 2 for 24 yards; Horace King, 2 for 22 yards; Luther Blue, 1 for 4 yards ATL: Billy Ryckman, 3 for 41 yards and 1 TD; Wallace Francis, 3 for 36 yards; Bubba Bean, 2 for 15 yards; Ricky Patton, 1 for 32 yards; Dennis Pearson, 1 for 23 yards; Haskel Stanback, 1 for 15 yards
Kick returns:
DET: Jesse Thompson, 1 for 29 yards; Freddie Scott, 1 for 23 yards ATL: Dennis Pearson, 1 for 25 yards
Punt returns:
DET: Freddie Scott, 5 for 29 yards ATL: Billy Ryckman, 1 for 0 yards
Interceptions:
ATL: Rolland Lawrence, 1 for 0 yards; Tom Pridemore, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
DET: Tom Skladany, 6 for 289 yards ATL: John James, 8 for 322 yards
Field Goals:
DET: Benny Ricardo, 0/1