1978–79 NFL playoffs

The National Football League playoffs for the 1978 season began on December 24, 1978. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, 35–31, on January 21, 1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

This was the first year that the playoffs expanded to a ten-team format, adding a second wild card team – a fifth seed – from each conference. The three division winners were seeded 1–2–3, and the two wild cards teams were seeded 4–5. The two wild card teams from each conference played each other in the first round. Dubbed the "Wild Card Playoffs", the games were hosted by the #4 seeds. In most years, both the AFC and NFC wild card games were played on Sunday (with occasional exceptions when they conflicted with Christmas Day).

The three division winners (seeds 1, 2, and 3) in each conference received a bye for the wild card weekend, and automatically advanced to the Divisional Playoffs. The surviving wild card team in each conference advanced to the Divisional Round and played at the #1 seed. However, a rule remained in place which prohibited two teams from the same division meeting in the Divisional Round. If the surviving wild card team was from the same division as the #1 seed, that team would instead play at the #2 seed, while the #1 seed would host the #3 seed.