1991 Atlanta Falcons season

Last updated

1991 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner Rankin Smith
Head coach Jerry Glanville
Home field Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishWon wild card playoffs
(at Saints) 27–20
Lost divisional playoffs
(at Redskins) 7–24
Pro Bowlers
4
AP All-Pros
3
The Falcons playing against the LA Rams at Anaheim Stadium in 1991 Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams 1991-12-08 - 01 (Rams-Falcons crop).jpg
The Falcons playing against the LA Rams at Anaheim Stadium in 1991

The 1991 Atlanta Falcons season was the team's 26th season in the National Football League (NFL). It was also the final season they played at Fulton County Stadium, before moving into the Georgia Dome the following season. The season would be the most successful Atlanta had compiled in almost a decade, with the team recording a winning record and clinching a playoff berth for the first time in nine years. Additionally, the Falcons won their first playoff game since 1978, by defeating the New Orleans Saints 27–20 in the NFC Wild Card Game. The following they would lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins 24–7 in the divisional round.

Contents

The last remaining active member of the 1991 Atlanta Falcons was quarterback Brett Favre, who retired after the 2010 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

The Falcons’ most notable selection in the 1991 NFL draft was future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, who was drafted in the second round, 33rd overall. [1] Head coach Jerry Glanville disapproved of the selection and said it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game. [2] Favre's first pass in an NFL regular season game resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown. He only attempted four passes in his career at Atlanta, completing none of them. [3] After the season ended, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers, where he remained for the following sixteen seasons. He went on to lead the Packers to eleven playoff appearances, two Super Bowl appearances, and their third Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXI. Favre also won three consecutive MVP awards, and was a 9-time Pro Bowler during his tenure in Green Bay.

1991 Atlanta Falcons draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
13 Bruce Pickens   Cornerback Nebraska
113 Mike Pritchard   Wide receiver Colorado
233 Brett Favre  * †  Quarterback Southern Mississippi
487 Moe Gardner   Defensive tackle Illinois
5114James Goode  Linebacker Oklahoma
6145 Erric Pegram   Running back North Texas
7172 Brian Mitchell  Cornerback BYU
7186 Mark Tucker   Guard USC
8199Randy Austin  Tight end UCLA
9226 Ernie Logan  Defensive tackle East Carolina
10256Walter Sutton Wide receiver Southwest Minnesota State
10258Pete Lucas  Offensive tackle Wisconsin–Stevens Point
11283 Joe Sims  Offensive tackle Nebraska
12310 Bob Christian  Fullback Northwestern
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[4]

Personnel

Staff

1991 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

  • Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr.
  • President – Taylor Smith
  • Vice-president of player personnel – Ken Herock
  • Director of pro scouting – Chuck Connor

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Bobby April

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen


Roster

1991 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

Practice squad

47 active, 8 inactive, 2 practice squadReserved


Rookies in italics

[5]

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 3vs. Los Angeles Rams W 38–171–0 Gator Bowl 66,531
2August 9at Houston Oilers W 36–72–0 Houston Astrodome 52,170
3August 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 7–122–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 41,983
4August 23at Dallas Cowboys L 17–20 (OT)2–2 Texas Stadium 53,689

[6]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 1at Kansas City Chiefs L 3–140–1 Arrowhead Stadium 74,246 Recap
2September 8 Minnesota Vikings L 19–200–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 50,936 Recap
3September 15at San Diego Chargers W 13–101–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 44,804 Recap
4September 22 Los Angeles Raiders W 21–172–2Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium53,615 Recap
5September 29 New Orleans Saints L 6–272–3Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium56,556 Recap
6 Bye
7October 13at San Francisco 49ers W 39–343–3 Candlestick Park 57,343 Recap
8October 20at Phoenix Cardinals L 10–163–4 Sun Devil Stadium 29,804 Recap
9October 27 Los Angeles Rams W 31–144–4Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium50,187 Recap
10November 3 San Francisco 49ers W 17–145–4Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium51,259 Recap
11November 10at Washington Redskins L 17–565–5 RFK Stadium 52,461 Recap
12November 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 43–76–5Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium41,274 Recap
13November 24at New Orleans Saints W 23–20 (OT)7–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,591 Recap
14December 1 Green Bay Packers W 35–318–5Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium43,270 Recap
15December 8at Los Angeles Rams W 31–149–5 Anaheim Stadium 35,315 Recap
16December 15 Seattle Seahawks W 26–1310–5Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium53,834 Recap
17December 22at Dallas Cowboys L 27–3110–6 Texas Stadium 60,962 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(3) New Orleans Saints 1150.6884–28–4341211W2
(6) Atlanta Falcons 1060.6255–17–5361338L1
San Francisco 49ers 1060.6253–37–5393239W6
Los Angeles Rams 3130.1880–62–10234390L10

Game summaries

Week 1

1234Total
Falcons30003
• Chiefs007714
  • Date: September 1
  • Location: Arrowhead Stadium
  • Game start: 12:00 CST
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • Television network: CBS

[7]

Week 2

1234Total
• Vikings707620
Falcons370919

[8]

Week 3

1234Total
• Falcons733013
Chargers070310

[9]

Week 4

1234Total
Raiders077317
• Falcons707721
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

[10]

Week 5

1234Total
• Saints3710727
Falcons06006
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Hank Stram

[11]

Week 7

1234Total
• Falcons14613639
49ers01413734
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Candlestick Park
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Randy Cross

[12]

Week 8

1234Total
Falcons730010
• Cardinals3010316
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: Sun Devil Stadium
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Irv Cross

[13]

Week 9

1234Total
Rams0001414
• Falcons71410031
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 71 °F or 21.7 °C; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Referee: Gerald Austin
  • Television network: CBS
Scoring summary
Q18:08ATL Dixon 19 yard pass from Miller (N. Johnson kick)ATL 7–0
Q27:28ATL Chaffey 5 yard run (N. Johnson kick)ATL 14–0
Q20:22ATL Rison 20 yard pass from Miller (N. Johnson kick)ATL 21–0
Q311:50ATL Haynes 55 yard pass from Miller (N. Johnson kick)ATL 28–0
Q30:53ATLN. Johnson 44 yard field goalATL 31–0
Q413:32LA Delpino 9 yard run (Zendejas kick)ATL 31–7
Q41:54LA Carter 18 yard pass from Pagel (Zendejas kick)ATL 31–14

[14] [15]

Week 10

1234Total
49ers070714
• Falcons0001717
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 EST
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Hank Stram

[16]

Week 11

1234Total
Falcons3014017
• Redskins72172156
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: RFK Stadium
  • Referee: Dale Hamer
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Randy Cross

[17]

Week 12

1234Total
Buccaneers00077
• Falcons0333743
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • Television network: CBS

[18]

Week 13

1234OTTotal
• Falcons03710323
Saints0767020
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Louisiana Superdome
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann

[19]

Week 14

1234Total
Packers71401031
• Falcons7072135
  • Date: December 1
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Randy Cross

[20]

Week 15

1234Total
• Falcons10147031
Rams070714
  • Date: December 8
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler and Merlin Olsen

[21]

Week 16

1234Total
Seahawks0031013
• Falcons2107726
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (NBC): Joel Meyers and Dan Hampton

[22]

Week 17

1234Total
Falcons14310027
• Cowboys2130731
  • Date: December 22
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Merlin Olsen

[23]

Playoffs

Wild card

1234Total
• Falcons01071027
Saints760720

Falcons quarterback Chris Miller completed the game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest. Miller completed 18 out of 30 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Divisional

1234Total
Falcons07007
• Redskins0143724

During their regular season meeting, Washington defeated Atlanta 56–17, with quarterback Mark Rypien throwing for 446 yards and 6 touchdowns. In this game the score was closer, but the result was still the same.

Under rainy and muddy conditions, the Redskins forced six turnovers, held the ball for over 36 minutes, and scored two touchdowns in a span of 3:11 in the second quarter.

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References

  1. ↑ "NFL Draft History – 1991". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
  2. ↑ D'Amato, Gary (October 24, 2005). "Trading places". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Brett Favre Career Stats".
  4. ↑ "1991 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "1991 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ "1991 Atlanta Falcons (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  7. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  8. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  9. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  10. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  11. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  12. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  13. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  14. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  15. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  16. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  17. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  18. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  19. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  20. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  21. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  22. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  23. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
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