2014 Atlanta Falcons season
Falcons' losing season ends with coach fired.
The 2014 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 49th in the National Football League, and their seventh and final season under head coach Mike Smith. The team was eliminated from postseason contention for the second straight year after a week 17 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Smith was fired after two consecutive losing seasons, and the Falcons were featured on the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks.
Quick Facts
- Team
- Atlanta Falcons
- Record
- 6–10
- Division place
- 3rd NFC South
- Coach
- Mike Smith
- Owner
- Arthur Blank
- General manager
- Thomas Dimitroff
- Stadium
- Georgia Dome
- Playoffs
- Did not qualify
Facts from the source article.
Schedule
During that contest, Devin Hester set a new all-time record with his 20th combined punt and kick return touchdown, surpassing Deion Sanders. It also marked the first time since 1993 that CBS aired an NFC versus NFC matchup. The Falcons' sole victory outside the NFC South occurred in the NFL International Series. They were the only NFC South team to lose every game against AFC North opponents. By winning, Atlanta swept New Orleans for the first time since 2005 and knocked the Saints out of playoff contention.
Use of artificial crowd noise
Shortly after the postseason, the NFL investigated the Falcons for piping artificial crowd noise during opponents' offensive snaps at home games in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Team owner Arthur Blank stated he was "angry and embarrassed" about the allegations and acknowledged the validity of the accusations, saying "I think what we've done in 2013 and 2014 was wrong." The NFL fined the Falcons $350,000 and took away a fifth-round draft pick in the 2016 draft.
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