The 1978 New Orleans Saints season was the Saintsâ twelfth season. Quarterback Archie Manning put together one of his finest seasons, earning the NFC Player of the Year award and becoming the Saintsâ first Pro Bowl representative since the NFLâÂÂAFL merger as the Saints finished with a franchise-best 7âÂÂ9 mark under new head coach Dick Nolan. Seven of the Saintsâ losses came against teams that qualified for the playoffs (including both Super Bowl XIII teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys), whilst all nine losses came against teams who finished at or above .500.