The 2018 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 53rd in the National Football League, their second playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (the venue for Super Bowl LIII) and their fourth under head coach Dan Quinn. The Falcons attempted to be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium as an expected Super Bowl contender. However, the Falcons were riddled with injuries, losing 7 starters to IR with the Falcons stumbling to a 1–4 start.
2018 Atlanta Falcons season | |
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Owner | Arthur Blank |
General manager | Thomas Dimitroff |
Head coach | Dan Quinn |
Home field | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 2nd NFC South |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | WR Julio Jones C Alex Mack TE Austin Hooper T Jake Matthews |
Uniform | |
Following a 31–17 loss to the Saints in Week 12, the Falcons fell to 4–7 and failed to match their 10–6 campaign from 2017. With a 34–20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons fell to 4–9 and suffered their first losing season since the 2014 season. Despite beating the Arizona Cardinals 40–14 in Week 15, the Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2015 with a win by the Minnesota Vikings. However, they were able to end their season with a 3 game win streak to finish 7–9.
Position | Player | 2018 Team | Date signed | Contract |
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CB | Blidi Wreh-Wilson | Atlanta Falcons | March 5, 2018 | 1 year, $880,000 |
K | Matt Bryant | Atlanta Falcons | March 10, 2018 | 3 years, $10.1 million |
WR | Taylor Gabriel | Chicago Bears | March 13, 2018 | 4 years, $26 million |
DT | Dontari Poe | Carolina Panthers | March 15, 2018 | 3 years, $28 million |
Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 26 | Calvin Ridley | WR | Alabama | |
2 | 58 | Isaiah Oliver | CB | Colorado | |
3 | 90 | Deadrin Senat | DT | South Florida | |
4 | 126 | Ito Smith | RB | Southern Miss | |
6 | 194 | Russell Gage | WR | LSU | from Los Angeles Rams |
200 | Foyesade Oluokun | LB | Yale |
Draft trades
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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The Falcons' preseason opponents and schedule was announced on April 11.
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
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1 | August 10 | at New York Jets | L 0–17 | 0–1 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
2 | August 17 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 14–28 | 0–2 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
3 | August 25 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 6–17 | 0–3 | EverBank Field | Recap |
4 | August 30 | Miami Dolphins | L 7–34 | 0–4 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
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1 | September 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 12–18 | 0–1 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap |
2 | September 16 | Carolina Panthers | W 31–24 | 1–1 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
3 | September 23 | New Orleans Saints | L 37–43 (OT) | 1–2 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
4 | September 30 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 36–37 | 1–3 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
5 | October 7 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–41 | 1–4 | Heinz Field | Recap |
6 | October 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 34–29 | 2–4 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
7 | October 22 | New York Giants | W 23–20 | 3–4 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
8 | Bye | |||||
9 | November 4 | at Washington Redskins | W 38–14 | 4–4 | FedExField | Recap |
10 | November 11 | at Cleveland Browns | L 16–28 | 4–5 | FirstEnergy Stadium | Recap |
11 | November 18 | Dallas Cowboys | L 19–22 | 4–6 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
12 | November 22 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–31 | 4–7 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Recap |
13 | December 2 | Baltimore Ravens | L 16–26 | 4–8 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
14 | December 9 | at Green Bay Packers | L 20–34 | 4–9 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
15 | December 16 | Arizona Cardinals | W 40–14 | 5–9 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
16 | December 23 | at Carolina Panthers | W 24–10 | 6–9 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
17 | December 30 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 34–32 | 7–9 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
Eagles | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 18 |
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Panthers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
Falcons | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
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Saints | 7 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 43 |
Falcons | 7 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 37 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bengals | 14 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 37 |
Falcons | 7 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 36 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Steelers | 13 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 41 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Buccaneers | 6 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 29 |
Falcons | 7 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 34 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
Falcons | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 23 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
Redskins | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
Browns | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
at FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 22 |
Falcons | 0 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 19 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Saints | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Ravens | 7 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 26 |
Falcons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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The Falcons were the only NFC South team to lose to all of their AFC North opponents in 2018.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
Packers | 7 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Game information | ||
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Matt Ryan eclipsed 4,000 yards, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 4,000 in at least eight consecutive seasons, joining Drew Brees (2006-2017) & Peyton Manning (2006-2014).[3] Julio Jones eclipsed 1,400 yards and became the first player in NFL history to register five consecutive seasons with at least 1,400 yards.[4]
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Falcons | 10 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 40 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Game information | ||
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Despite this win, the loss by Miami to Minnesota eliminated the Falcons from post-season contention and once again assures that the Super Bowl host team will not play the championship game on their own field.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 7 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
Panthers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Falcons | 0 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 34 |
Buccaneers | 7 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 32 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Game information | ||
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NFC South | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(1) New Orleans Saints | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 504 | 353 | L1 |
Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 414 | 423 | W3 |
Carolina Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 376 | 382 | W1 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 396 | 464 | L4 |
# | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
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Division leaders | |||||||||||
1[a] | New Orleans Saints | South | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .482 | .488 | L1 |
2[a] | Los Angeles Rams | West | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 6–0 | 9–3 | .480 | .428 | W2 |
3 | Chicago Bears | North | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 10–2 | .430 | .419 | W4 |
4 | Dallas Cowboys | East | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .488 | .444 | W2 |
Wild Cards | |||||||||||
5 | Seattle Seahawks | West | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .484 | .400 | W2 |
6 | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .518 | .486 | W3 |
Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||||
7 | Minnesota Vikings | North | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 3–2–1 | 6–5–1 | .504 | .355 | L1 |
8[b] | Atlanta Falcons | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .482 | .348 | W3 |
9[b] | Washington Redskins | East | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .486 | .371 | L2 |
10[b] | Carolina Panthers | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .508 | .518 | W1 |
11 | Green Bay Packers | North | 6 | 9 | 1 | .406 | 1–4–1 | 3–8–1 | .488 | .417 | L1 |
12 | Detroit Lions | North | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .504 | .427 | W1 |
13[c] | New York Giants | East | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .527 | .487 | L3 |
14[c] | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .523 | .506 | L4 |
15 | San Francisco 49ers | West | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .504 | .406 | L2 |
16 | Arizona Cardinals | West | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 2–4 | 3–9 | .527 | .302 | L4 |
Tiebreakers[d] | |||||||||||
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