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1984 Atlanta Falcons season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1984 Atlanta Falcons season
General managerTom Braatz
Head coachDan Henning
Home fieldFulton County Stadium
Results
Record4–12
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersT Mike Kenn

The 1984 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise’s 19th season in the National Football League (NFL). The season saw Atlanta attempting to improve on its previous record of 7–9 from 1983. The Falcons would split their first six games, but then suffer a franchise-record 9-game losing streak to knock the team down to 3–12. The Falcons would win their finale against the Philadelphia Eagles and finish the season 4–12, their worst record since 1976.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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1984 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 9 Rick Bryan  Defensive end Oklahoma
2 32 Scott Case *  Defensive back Oklahoma
2 36 Thomas Benson  Linebacker Oklahoma
3 63 Rod McSwain  Defensive back Clemson
4 94 Rydell Melancon  Linebacker LSU
5 132 Cliff Benson  Tight end Purdue
6 148 Ben Bennett  Quarterback Duke
6 163 Dan Ralph  Defensive tackle Oregon
7 175 Kirk Dodge  Linebacker UNLV
8 206 Jeff Jackson  Linebacker Auburn
9 233 Glen Howe  Offensive tackle Southern Miss
10 260 Derrick Franklin  Defensive back Fresno State
11 287 Tommy Norman  Wide receiver Jackson State
12 318 Don Holmes  Wide receiver Colorado Mesa
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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NFL supplemental draft

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The National Football League held a draft for college seniors who had already signed with either the United States Football League (USFL) or the Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 5, 1984, in New York City. The draft was for players who would have been eligible for the regular 1984 NFL draft, but who had already signed a contract with either a team from the USFL or CFL prior to it.

1984 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 9 Joey Jones  Wide receiver Alabama
2 36 Mike McInnis  Defensive tackle Arkansas–Pine Bluff
3 63 Dennis Woodberry  Defensive back Southern Arkansas
      Made roster  

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Personnel

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Staff

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1984 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Assistant head coach/defensive line – Dan Sekanovich
  • Defensive coordinator – John Marshall
  • Linebackers – Bobby Jackson
  • Secondary – Jack Stanton

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – George Dostal


Roster

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1984 Atlanta Falcons roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 2 at New Orleans Saints W 36–28 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 66,652 Recap
2 September 9 Detroit Lions L 24–27 (OT) 1–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 49,878 Recap
3 September 16 at Minnesota Vikings L 20–27 1–2 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 53,955 Recap
4 September 23 Houston Oilers W 42–10 2–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 45,248 Recap
5 September 30 at San Francisco 49ers L 5–14 2–3 Candlestick Park 57,990 Recap
6 October 7 at Los Angeles Rams W 30–28 3–3 Anaheim Stadium 47,832 Recap
7 October 14 New York Giants L 7–19 3–4 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 50,268 Recap
8 October 22 Los Angeles Rams L 10–24 3–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 52,681 Recap
9 October 28 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–35 3–6 Three Rivers Stadium 55,971 Recap
10 November 5 at Washington Redskins L 14–27 3–7 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 51,301 Recap
11 November 11 New Orleans Saints L 13–17 3–8 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 40,590 Recap
12 November 18 Cleveland Browns L 7–23 3–9 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 28,280 Recap
13 November 25 at Cincinnati Bengals L 14–35 3–10 Riverfront Stadium 44,678 Recap
14 December 2 San Francisco 49ers L 17–35 3–11 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 29,644 Recap
15 December 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–23 3–12 Tampa Stadium 33,808 Recap
16 December 16 Philadelphia Eagles W 26–10 4–12 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 15,582 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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Game summaries

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Week 1

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1 234Total
• Falcons 5 14710 36
Saints 7 1407 28

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Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

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Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Lions 10 7 70327
Falcons 0 10 77024

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 3 at Vikings

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Week Three: Atlanta Falcons (1–1) at Minnesota Vikings (0–2)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 3 7720
Vikings 3 3 21027

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Week 5 (Sunday, September 30, 1984): at San Francisco 49ers

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Week 5: Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons (2–3) 3 0 025
49ers (5–0) 0 14 0014

at Candlestick ParkSan Francisco, California

Team Category Player Statistics
ATL Passing Steve Bartkowski 22/41, 267 YDS, 2 INTs
Rushing Gerald Riggs 28 CAR, 136 YDS
Receiving Stacey Bailey 4 REC, 97 YDS
SF Passing Joe Montana 13/25, 149 YDS, 2 TDs
Rushing Wendell Tyler 12 CAR, 99 YDS
Receiving Mike Wilson 3 REC, 47 YDS, 1 TD
  • Point spread: 49ers by 6
  • Over/Under: 49.5 (under)
  • Time of Game:
Falcons Game Statistics 49ers
22 First downs 17
35–161 Rushes–yards 32–161
267 Passing yards 149
22–41–2 Passes 13–25–0
2–10 Sacked–yards 0–0
257 Net passing yards 149
418 Total yards 310
48 Return yards 62
4–38.8 Punts 5–43.8
3–1 Fumbles–lost 3–2
5–45 Penalties–yards 5–56
34:57 Time of Possession 25:03

Week 11

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1 234Total
• Saints 10 007 17
Falcons 0 1030 13

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Week 14 (Sunday, December 2, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers

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Week 14: San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers (13–1) 7 14 7735
Falcons (3–11) 3 7 7017

at Atlanta–Fulton County StadiumAtlanta, Georgia

Team Category Player Statistics
SF Passing Joe Montana 12/24, 165 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing Wendell Tyler 15 CAR, 69 YDS
Receiving Earl Cooper 4 REC, 51 YDS
ATL Passing Mike Moroski 22/43, 289 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INTs
Rushing Gerald Riggs 30 CAR, 133 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving Alfred Jackson 11 REC, 193 YDS, 1 TD
  • Point spread: 49ers by 13
  • Over/Under: 40.0 (over)
  • Time of Game:
49ers Game Statistics Falcons
15 First downs 23
31–143 Rushes–yards 36–153
165 Passing yards 289
12–24–2 Passes 22–43–3
2–18 Sacked–yards 3–28
147 Net passing yards 261
290 Total yards 414
224 Return yards 112
5–39.6 Punts 4–40.8
1–1 Fumbles–lost 3–3
9–73 Penalties–yards 8–50
24:33 Time of Possession 35:27

Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers(1) 15 1 0 .938 6–0 12–0 475 227 W9
Los Angeles Rams(4) 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 346 316 L1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 1–5 4–8 298 361 W1
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 2–4 3–9 281 382 W1

Awards and records

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  • Gerald Riggs, Franchise Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 202 Yards (September 2, 1984) [7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1984 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
  2. ^ "1984 Atlanta Falcons".
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-23.
  5. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2017-Nov-29.
  6. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-23.
  7. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 98
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