Short answers, pulled from the story.
The 1978 season introduced the five-yard contact restriction for defenders covering receivers, known as the "Mel Blount Rule." Pass blockers were permitted to use extended arms and open hands, the penalty for intentional grounding was reduced from 15 yards to 10 yards, and a seventh official called the Side Judge was added to each crew.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw was named the season's Most Valuable Player.
The Houston Oilers selected running back Earl Campbell of Texas with the first overall pick on the 2nd of May 1978. Campbell, the Heisman Trophy winner, rushed for 1,450 yards in his debut season and won both Offensive Player of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Before 1978, the NFL regular season consisted of 14 games. The 1978 season expanded the schedule to 16 games, a format the league kept in place until 2021.
The average NFL player salary in 1978 was just under $62,600, representing a 13.2 percent increase over the previous year. Running back O.J. Simpson was the highest-paid player at just under $733,400.
The addition of a seventh official, the Side Judge, to each crew required fifteen new officials to enter the league, exhausting the available single and double-digit numbers. Tom Dooley (103), Dale Hamer (104), and Dick Hantak (105) were among the first to wear triple-digit numbers.