What are the most dominant teams in Falcons history? ·

03 May 2024, 00:00

The Falcons have been playing football since 1966.

Since the team’s inception, it has reached the postseason 14 times, with two trips to the Super Bowl, four to the NFC Championship Game and 10 appearances in the divisional round. Considering the Falcons are entering their 55th season, history hasn’t been too kind in the grand scheme of things. But there have been quite a few exceptional teams that made spirited runs at the Lombardi Trophy.

Without further ado, here are the seven most dominant teams in Falcons franchise history.

No. 7: 1977 — The Grits Blitz

It would be a disservice not to include the 1977 defense on this list, even if this particular team didn’t make the playoffs. The offense was, well, fairly bad by averaging only 12.8 points per game. With at least an average offensive output, perhaps the 1977 Falcons could have been Super Bowl contenders.

But this defense was nothing short of dominant. Nicknamed the Grits Blitz, the 1977 Falcons posted two shutouts (at San Francisco 49ers, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and kept five other teams to fewer than 10 points (vs. Los Angeles Rams, vs. New York Giants, at Buffalo Bills, vs. Detroit Lions, vs. New Orleans Saints). Five other teams failed to reach 17 points, and only two crossed the 20-point barrier. In 14 games, the Falcons held teams to 9.2 points per game. The Grits Blitz also accounted for 42 sacks and 26 interceptions. Opposing teams scored only nine touchdown passes.

Led by Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey, the Falcons’ defense also got great seasons from cornerback Rolland Lawrence (seven interceptions), linebacker Ralph Ortega (four interceptions, five fumble recoveries), safety Ray Brown (five interceptions) and safety Ray Easterling (four interceptions, two fumble recoveries).

Likely due to the offense’s output and overall 7-7 record, the 1977 Falcons defense rarely shows up on best-ever lists. Truth be told, this defensive unit deserves to at least be considered among the all-time greats.

No. 6: 2004 — DVD

The 2004 season marked the first time that the Falcons posted a double-digit win total in the Michael Vick era. In six of the team’s 16 regular-season games, the Falcons posted victories of 10 points or more, headlined by a 35-10 blowout over the Oakland Raiders. In the end, the Falcons won the NFC South with an 11-5 record, which was catapulted by a spectacular rushing attack.

In Jim Mora’s first season as Atlanta’s head coach, the Falcons ranked first in rushing yards per game at 167. This was spearheaded by a three-headed monster in the backfield with Vick, Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett — nicknamed “DVD” due to the first initial of their last names. Dunn led the Falcons in rushing with 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns, which included four games with at least 100 yards. Vick ran for 902 yards and three touchdowns, with three 100-yard performances. With 120 carries that season, Vick led the NFL with an average of 7.5 yards per carry. Behind Dunn and Vick, Duckett totaled 509 yards and eight touchdowns.

The defense got after the quarterback with regularity, posting a league-leading 48 sacks. Defensive end Patrick Kearney finished the year with 13 sacks, which ranked fourth in the NFL.

Atlanta had an electric performance in the divisional round of the playoffs against the St. Louis Rams with a 47-17 victory. Vick needed to complete only 12-of-16 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns in the game as he totaled 119 yards on the ground on only eight carries. Dunn ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, and Duckett totaled 66 yards and a score. The defense made it tough for Rams quarterback Marc Bulger by sacking him four times (once for a safety) and picking him off once.

The Falcons, however, saw their season come to an end a week later against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Still, this went down as one of the most memorable years in franchise history.

No. 5: 2010 — Coming through in crunch time

Though the 2010 Falcons had their share of double-digit victories, what they did best during the regular season was finish out close games with wins. Atlanta went 7-2 in games decided by seven points or fewer, including an overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 and a two-point victory over the 49ers a week later. After losing to the Eagles in Week 6, and standing at a 4-2 record, the Falcons didn’t lose again until Week 16 in a rematch against the Saints.

Throughout the year, the Falcons had a reliable defense that bent but didn’t break. Though they ranked 17th in yards allowed, they finished fifth in scoring defense by allowing 18 points per game. Similarly on offense, the team ranked 16th in yards but managed to rank fifth in points per game at 25.9.

Atlanta offered a balanced attack in what was quarterback Matt Ryan’s third NFL season. Ryan took care of the ball as he threw only nine interceptions during the regular season. He also had plenty of crunch-time moments. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Falcons were trailing 25-24 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Ryan drove the Falcons down the field and ended the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White. After the defense forced a fumble on Cincinnati’s ensuing drive, Ryan went 4-of-5 passing before giving the ball to running back Michael Turner for a 3-yard touchdown that effectively put away the Bengals.

In a 26-21 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Ryan hit White for a 33-yard game-winning touchdown with only 20 seconds to play. In the regular-season meeting, the Green Bay Packers tied the Falcons at 17 with 1:06 to go. But Ryan completed four consecutive passes that helped set up a game-winning field goal from Matt Bryant. That season also featured two 31-10 victories over the Carolina Panthers and a 41-7 drubbing of the Arizona Cardinals. Turner finished the year third in rushing with 1,371 yards while scoring 12 touchdowns.

After the 13-3 campaign, the season ended in disappointment when the Packers, that season’s Super Bowl champions, got revenge in a 48-21 in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Atlanta wasn’t necessarily dominant from a historical context. But in close games, the Falcons more often than not came through with a big play or two to end up on the winning side.

No. 4: 2012 — Airing it out

The Falcons wasted no time establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL during the 2012 season. They opened the year with a 40-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs with Julio Jones catching six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Tony Gonzalez also had a big day with five catches, 53 yards and a touchdown against his former team. It was a great way to start the season, which gave Atlanta plenty of momentum heading into the first half of its schedule.

Including the opening-game victory, the Falcons reeled off eight wins in a row to start the season. After a close 31-27 loss to the Saints in Week 10, Atlanta won three more in a row before suffering its second loss of the season against the Panthers. The Falcons won two more before losing the season finale, while playing all of their starters, against the Buccaneers. Still, a 13-3 record earned Atlanta the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

This season featured a much more explosive offense under head coach Mike Smith. Ryan threw for what was at the time a career best with 4,719 yards and 32 touchdowns, all while completing 68.6 percent of his passes. Under offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who was in the first season of his first stint with the franchise, Atlanta opted to pass the ball much more than it ran. In doing so, White went for 1,351 receiving yards, and Jones finished with 1,198 yards. Gonzalez came close to the 1,000-yard mark with 930. It proved to be a dynamic passing attack with the weapons at Ryan’s disposal.

Defensively, the Falcons didn’t get after the quarterback the way they would have liked but were still able to turn teams over. Atlanta finished the regular season tied for fifth in the NFL in both total takeaways (31) and interceptions (20).

In the divisional round of the playoffs, it looked like Atlanta was going to roll to a win against the Seattle Seahawks. But after holding leads of 20-0 at halftime and 27-7 in the third quarter, the Seahawks scored 21 unanswered points to take a 28-27 lead with 31 seconds left in the game. Beginning the final drive at Atlanta’s 28-yard line, Ryan completed a pass to Harry Douglas for 22 yards and then one to Gonzalez for 19 yards. This set up Bryant to make a 49-yard field goal, which would give the Falcons a 30-28 victory.

While Atlanta broke one NFC West team’s heart in the divisional round, another returned the favor a week later in the NFC Championship Game. After trailing 24-14 in the second half, the 49ers rallied to go up 28-24 in the fourth quarter. Atlanta drove to San Francisco’s 10-yard line before falling short of the end zone with 1:13 to play.

This marked the closest Smith got to a Super Bowl as Atlanta’s head coach. After two losing seasons in 2013 and 2014, Smith was fired, with Dan Quinn hired to replace him.

No. 3: 1980 — The first division title

If the 1977 defense had the 1980 offense, it could have gone down as one of the best teams of all time. Only three years removed from possessing a dominant defense and poor offense, the 1980 team balanced things out. Offensively, the Falcons were led by a great rushing attack that featured William Andrews and Lynn Cain. Andrews, in only his second NFL season, had an excellent game in a Week 2 outing against the New England Patriots. In Atlanta’s dominant 37-21 victory, Andrews had 19 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown and added four catches for 30 yards and a score.

The beginning of the 1980 season was a bit rocky with Atlanta starting off 3-3. But in Week 7, everything began to click. The Falcons blew out the winless Saints 41-14 and turned that into a nine-game winning streak. During that span, Atlanta outscored its opponents 241-128. In addition, only one team during the winning streak scored more than 17 points (the St. Louis Cardinals in a 33-27 Atlanta overtime victory). The winning streak came to an end in the final week of the regular season, with the Los Angeles Rams winning 20-17.

During the regular season, Andrews finished with 1,308 rushing yards and four touchdowns to go with 51 catches, 456 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Cain ran for 914 yards and eight touchdowns. Quarterback Steve Bartkowski, as did Andrews, earned a Pro Bowl nod by throwing for 3,544 yards and 31 touchdowns — his touchdown total being a career best in a single season. Linebacker Al Richardson led the way on defense with seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries, with one of those resulting in a touchdown.

Earning the No. 1 seed, the Falcons ended up playing the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round of the playoffs. Holding a 27-17 lead in the fourth quarter, Atlanta allowed 13 unanswered points and fell 30-27.

The 1980 season marked the first time the Falcons won 10 or more games in a single season and was only the second time they reached the postseason. It was also the first time they ever won a divisional title — then the NFC West — and earned a No. 1 seed in the postseason.

No. 2: 2016 — The most dominant offense

There’s a great case to be made that the 2016 Falcons’ offense is among the best in NFL history. With Kyle Shanahan in his second season as offensive coordinator, the Falcons scored 540 points, which ranked first in the NFL, and put up a total of 6,653 yards, which was good for second in the league. Atlanta averaged 6.7 yards per play, which was the best number in the NFL.

Only once did the Falcons score fewer than 23 points, which came during a Week 10 loss to the Eagles (24-15.) Sitting at 6-4, the Falcons went on a 5-1 run to end the regular season while claiming the NFC South championship. During this span is when the defense came together and started playing with more cohesion. During the first 10 games, Atlanta allowed more than 28 points per game, but in the final six that number fell to 20.5.

While the defense came together late in the year, the offense was magnificent from start to finish. That helped lead to Ryan being named the league’s MVP after throwing for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. The rest of the offensive output showed a remarkable balance to what was transpiring on the field.

While Jones led the way with 1,409 receiving yards and six touchdowns, a total of five players had more than 400 receiving yards. One of those players was Devonta Freeman, who had 462 receiving yards and two touchdowns to go with his primary job of running for 1,079 yards and 11 scores.

With the Falcons peaking during the latter part of the season, they were able to notch blowout victories against Seattle 36-20 and Green Bay 44-21 in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl. Of course, after holding a 28-3 lead, the Falcons were unable to hold on and lost to the Patriots 34-28 in overtime of Super Bowl LI. It was the final game for Shanahan with the Falcons as he became the 49ers’ head coach shortly after the game.

While the Super Bowl loss is what people remember most about the 2016 season, the offensive output to get Atlanta to that game was nothing short of exceptional.

No. 1: 1998 — The Dirty Birds

No one expected much from the 1998 Falcons heading into that season. The team was 7-9 in 1997, which began with a disappointing 1-7 start. Even with the Falcons finishing 6-2 during the final eight games, no one outside of the organization put much thought into this team being an NFL contender.

As it turned out, there never has been a more balanced team in all three phases than the 1998 Falcons.

After two close wins to open the year, Atlanta lost to San Francisco in Week 4, which came after an early-season bye the week prior. After convincing wins over the Panthers (51-23), Giants (34-20) and Saints (31-23), the Falcons suffered their last loss of the regular season in a 28-3 defeat to the Jets.

After that, the Falcons had a dominating nine-game stretch to close their regular-season campaign. During that stretch, Atlanta recorded double-digit wins over the Rams (twice), Patriots, 49ers, Saints and Miami Dolphins.

On offense, the team was led by running back Jamal Anderson, who totaled 1,846 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. A consistent force in the backfield, Anderson totaled 100 or more yards in 12 of his 16 games that season. Quarterback Chris Chandler led what was a balanced passing attack that featured Tony Martin (1,181), Terance Mathis (1,136) topping the 1,000-yard mark.

And then there was the defense that made things incredibly tough for the opposition. Lester Archambeau led the way with 10 sacks, with Chuck Smith finishing second on the team with 8.5. Cornerback Ray Buchanan totaled seven interceptions and a forced fumble. Safety Eugene Robinson picked off four passes, which included one that went for a touchdown.

Of course, there was the Dirty Bird dance that Anderson crafted, which took off among his teammates and became a craze in the city of Atlanta.

Despite a 14-2 record, the Falcons were the NFC’s No. 2 seed since the Minnesota Vikings had a 15-1 regular-season record. After the Falcons defeated the 49ers 20-18 in the divisional round, the Falcons and Vikings squared off for the NFC championship. With 2:07 left to play, Vikings place-kicker Gary Anderson had a chance to put his team up 10 points. But after going unblemished for the entire year, Anderson missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt that kept Atlanta alive. The Falcons capitalized by tying the score at 27 to send the conference title game to overtime. In the end, Falcons place-kicker Morten Andersen was able to hit his 38-yard attempt to send Atlanta to its first-ever Super Bowl.

But the Falcons came up short in a 34-19 loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.

With 14 wins, a trip to the Super Bowl and a point differential of 153, it’s easy to see how the 1998 Falcons were the most dominant in franchise history.

(Photo of Jamal Anderson (32) and Terance Mathis: Getty Images)

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What are the most dominant teams in Falcons history?