1986 Atlanta Falcons season

Last updated

1986 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach Dan Henning
Home field Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record7–8–1
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
2

The 1986 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 21st season in the National Football League (NFL). It began with moderate expectations. [1] Head coach Dan Henning was going into his fourth year having failed to post a record above .500 in any of his first three seasons. Local media, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saw it as Henning's last chance to save his head coaching job. [2] Atlanta entered the season led by, among others, Gerald Riggs, [3] Scott Case, Bill Fralic and Jeff Van Note. David Archer was the starting quarterback heading into the season. [4]

Contents

The Falcons won their first 4 games, but their season was effectively ruined by going 3-8-1 afterwards.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1986 Atlanta Falcons draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
12 Tony Casillas   Defensive tackle Oklahoma
117 Tim Green   Linebacker Syracuse
6154 Floyd Dixon   Wide receiver Stephen F. Austin
6159Keith Williams Wide receiver Missouri State
8197Kevin Hudgens  Defensive end Idaho State
9224Kevin Starks  Tight end Minnesota
10252 Tony Baker   Running back East Carolina
11280Chris Hegg  Quarterback Truman State
12308 Steve Griffin  Wide receiver Purdue
      Made roster  

[5]

Personnel

Staff

1986 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

  • Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr.
  • President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr.
  • Executive vice president – Taylor Smith
  • Director of player personnel – Tom Braatz
  • Director of pro personnel – Bill Jobko
  • Assistant for research and development – Joe Madden

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – George Dostal

Roster

1986 Atlanta Falcons final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Season summary

The Falcons began the 1986 season strong by winning their first four games 4–0 start, beating their NFC West rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 31–10 in the season opener. They opened at home in Atlanta with a 33–13 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Then, after a thrilling 37–35 win in Dallas, they beat the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23–20. The first loss came to the Philadelphia Eagles, whose strong defense coached by Buddy Ryan took care of the Falcons 16–0. Henning didn't let the loss affect his team as they beat the playoff bound Los Angeles Rams 26–14, putting the Falcons in first place with a record of 5-1. Things seemed to be going great for Atlanta, as they were able to tie the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers 10–10. Following the tie to the 49ers, a five-game slide derailed the season, starting with a 14–7 loss to the Rams, then a 25–17 loss to the defending AFC champion New England Patriots. They returned home to face the 8–1 New York Jets, where they lost 28–14 to drop them to 5–4–1. The next week a 13–10 loss to the Chicago Bears knocked them into last place in the division. Their last loss of the streak was a 20–0 loss to the 49ers. The now 5–6–1 Falcons ended their winless streak against the Miami Dolphins in a 20–14 victory. The nadir of the season came in a 28–23 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, who started the year 0–13, and was the Colts’ first win of the year. By that time, the Falcons were out of the playoff picture with Los Angeles and San Francisco already in. The Falcons dropped their last home game 14–9 to New Orleans. They concluded their season with a 20–6 victory against the Detroit Lions.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 7at New Orleans Saints W 31–101–0 Louisiana Superdome 67,950 Recap
2September 14 St. Louis Cardinals W 33–132–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 46,463 Recap
3September 21at Dallas Cowboys W 37–353–0 Texas Stadium 62,880 Recap
4September 28at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–204–0 Tampa Stadium 38,950 Recap
5October 5 Philadelphia Eagles L 0–164–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium57,104 Recap
6October 12 Los Angeles Rams W 26–145–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium51,662 Recap
7October 19 San Francisco 49ers T 10–10 (OT)5–1–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium55,306 Recap
8October 26at Los Angeles Rams L 7–145–2–1 Anaheim Stadium 56,993 Recap
9November 2at New England Patriots L 17–255–3–1 Sullivan Stadium 60,597 Recap
10November 9 New York Jets L 14–285–4–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium53,476 Recap
11November 16 Chicago Bears L 10–135–5–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium55,520 Recap
12November 23at San Francisco 49ers L 0–205–6–1 Candlestick Park 58,747 Recap
13November 30at Miami Dolphins W 20–146–6–1 Miami Orange Bowl 53,762 Recap
14December 7 Indianapolis Colts L 23–286–7–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium30,397 Recap
15December 14 New Orleans Saints L 9–146–8–1Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium39,994 Recap
16December 21at Detroit Lions W 20–67–8–1 Pontiac Silverdome 35,255 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

Atlanta Falcons (0–0) at New Orleans Saints (0–0)
Period1234Total
Falcons7771031
Saints030710

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
San Francisco 49ers (3)1051.6563–2–16–5–1374247W3
Los Angeles Rams (5)1060.6253–38–4309267L2
Atlanta Falcons 781.4692–3–16–5–1280280W1
New Orleans Saints 790.4383–36–6288287L1

Rankings for 1986 season

Atlanta was 6th in scoring defense allowing 280 points, 21st in scoring offense scoring 280 points. Passing; 246 completions of 452 attempts for 3046 yards. David Archer threw for 10 of the teams 14 passing touchdowns, Turk Schonert threw the other four. Archer had nine of the teams 17 interceptions, and Schonert was picked the other eight times. The team rushed for 12 touchdowns nine of which came from Gerald Riggs, one from Schonert, one from William Andrews, one Cliff Austin.

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References

  1. ↑ "Picking the Falcons to go 9–7, starting with a win over the Saints". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 7, 1986.
  2. ↑ "Falcons hoping for fast start in New Orleans opener". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 7, 1986.
  3. ↑ "Riggs makes backfield whole again". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 5, 1986.
  4. ↑ "Archer reports bruised right shoulder feeling 'fair'". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 3, 1986.
  5. ↑ "1986 Atlanta Falcons Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
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