NFC Championship Title (1998)

Lore & Background

The Falcons were founded on June 30, 1965, with the NFL awarding Atlanta a football team to prevent the franchise from joining the rival American Football League. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership of the team to businessman Rankin Smith, beginning play in the 1966 season as an expansion team. The name 'Falcons' was suggested by high school teacher Julia Elliott through a 1965 contest. Smith remained as the owner of the Falcons until his death in 1997, with ownership of the team then transferring to his son Taylor.

Taylor Smith reached a preliminary agreement with businessman Arthur Blank to purchase the team on December 6, 2001. The sale was finalized on February 2, 2002, following a unanimous vote by NFL owners. Since the team's inception, it has been based in Atlanta, playing their home games at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium since 2017. They previously played home games at the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (1966–1991) and the Georgia Dome (1992–2016).

The Falcons began play in the Eastern Conference of the NFL, before moving to the Coastal division in the Western Conference. Following the 1970 NFL realignment, the team moved to the NFC West division. The team moved for the third and final time to the NFC South division following the 2002 NFL realignment.

Reader's Guide

Over their 59 seasons in the NFL, the Falcons have accumulated a record of 390 wins, 512 losses, and 6 ties. A mark of the franchise's inconsistency is that they did not have consecutive seasons with better than .500 records until 2008 and 2009. They have also made the playoffs fourteen times and have the seventh-worst playoff record in terms of win-loss percentage with 10 wins and 14 losses. The Falcons appeared in two Super Bowl championships—Super Bowl XXXIII and Super Bowl LI—losing to the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, respectively. The Falcons have won the NFC Championship twice and a division title six times, winning the NFC West twice (1978 and 1998) and the NFC South four times (2004, 2010, 2012 and 2016). The team currently has seventeen winning seasons, four tied seasons, and thirty-eight losing seasons.

Dominant Offensive Production

The 2016 campaign stands as a statistical marvel for the Atlanta Falcons, headlined by quarterback Matt Ryan earning the NFL MVP award. The unit was historically prolific, accumulating 540 points total, which ranked as the highest single-season output in the league that year and secured an eighth-place spot on the all-time scoring list. Their offensive consistency was remarkable; they managed to score fewer than twenty-three points only once during the entire regular season, a rare occurrence against the Philadelphia Eagles. Such dominance propelled the team to an 11–5 record, securing the NFC South title for the first time since 2012 and earning them the second seed in the conference playoffs.

Playoff Ascent and Super Bowl Heartbreak

Following their divisional victory, the Falcons navigated a challenging postseason path that began with a decisive 36–20 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round. This victory set the stage for an emphatic 44–21 triumph against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, sending Atlanta to their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. In Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots, the Falcons constructed a seemingly insurmountable 28–3 lead by midway through the third quarter. However, the game took a historic turn as the Patriots mounted an unprecedented comeback, scoring twenty-five unanswered points to force overtime—the first time ever in Super Bowl history. Ultimately, Atlanta's defense could not contain New England in extra time, resulting in a heartbreaking 34–28 loss that remains one of the most dramatic collapses in professional sports.

Regular Season Volatility and Resilience

Despite their eventual success, the Falcons' regular season was marked by significant volatility and narrow escapes. Early struggles included starting the year 0–1 for the first time since 2013 before finding their rhythm. A particularly stinging defeat occurred in Week 7 against the San Diego Chargers, where Atlanta surrendered a seventeen-point lead to lose in overtime after a missed field goal attempt; this loss foreshadowed larger collapses later in the year.

Another close call came in Week 13 versus the Kansas City Chiefs, where a failed two-point conversion and a subsequent interception returned for a score by Eric Berry handed Kansas City a one-point victory. Yet, the team displayed resilience, clinching their divisional title in Week 16 with a road win against Carolina while also securing a crucial final regular-season home game at the Georgia Dome against New Orleans to finish as the NFC's number two seed.

Franchise Milestones and Historical Context

The 2016 season served as a pivotal transition point for the franchise, marking their fifty-first year in the NFL and their second under head coach Dan Quinn. It was also the team's twenty-fifth and final home campaign at the Georgia Dome before relocating to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium the following year. The roster construction involved strategic adjustments, including forfeiting a fifth-round draft pick due to past violations regarding artificial crowd noise during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, while also executing trades involving sixth-round selections for veteran depth like guard Andy Levitre. As of recent years, this season remains the most successful in terms of divisional dominance, representing the last time Atlanta has won the NFC South title. The combination of record-breaking offense and a Super Bowl appearance cements this era as a defining chapter in the team's modern history.