The 1984 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise’s 19th season in the National Football League (NFL). The season saw Atlanta attempting to improve on its previous record of 7–9 from 1983 . The Falcons would split their first six games, but then suffer a franchise-record 9-game losing streak to knock the team down to 3–12. The Falcons would win their finale against the Philadelphia Eagles and finish the season 4–12, their worst record since 1976 .
[ 1]
NFL supplemental draft
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The National Football League held a draft for college seniors who had already signed with either the United States Football League (USFL) or the Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 5, 1984, in New York City. The draft was for players who would have been eligible for the regular 1984 NFL draft, but who had already signed a contract with either a team from the USFL or CFL prior to it.
[ 1]
1984 Atlanta Falcons staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Assistant head coach/defensive line – Dan Sekanovich
Defensive coordinator – John Marshall
Linebackers – Bobby Jackson
Secondary – Jack Stanton
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength and conditioning – George Dostal
1984 Atlanta Falcons final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Rookies in italics
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
Recap
1
September 2
at New Orleans Saints
W 36–28
1–0
Louisiana Superdome
66,652
Recap
2
September 9
Detroit Lions
L 24–27 (OT)
1–1
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
49,878
Recap
3
September 16
at Minnesota Vikings
L 20–27
1–2
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
53,955
Recap
4
September 23
Houston Oilers
W 42–10
2–2
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
45,248
Recap
5
September 30
at San Francisco 49ers
L 5–14
2–3
Candlestick Park
57,990
Recap
6
October 7
at Los Angeles Rams
W 30–28
3–3
Anaheim Stadium
47,832
Recap
7
October 14
New York Giants
L 7–19
3–4
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
50,268
Recap
8
Los Angeles Rams
L 10–24
3–5
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
52,681
Recap
9
October 28
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 10–35
3–6
Three Rivers Stadium
55,971
Recap
10
at Washington Redskins
L 14–27
3–7
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
51,301
Recap
11
November 11
New Orleans Saints
L 13–17
3–8
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
40,590
Recap
12
November 18
Cleveland Browns
L 7–23
3–9
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
28,280
Recap
13
November 25
at Cincinnati Bengals
L 14–35
3–10
Riverfront Stadium
44,678
Recap
14
December 2
San Francisco 49ers
L 17–35
3–11
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
29,644
Recap
15
December 9
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
L 6–23
3–12
Tampa Stadium
33,808
Recap
16
December 16
Philadelphia Eagles
W 26–10
4–12
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
15,582
Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
[ 2]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Falcons
5
14 7 10
36
Saints
7
14 0 7
28
Scoring summary 1 ATL Mick Luckhurst 38 yard field goalATL 3–0
1 ATL Safety, Richard Todd tackled by Rick Bryan in end zone ATL 5–0
1 NO George Rogers 3 yard run (Morten Andersen kick)NO 7–5
2 ATL Alfred Jackson 50 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick)ATL 12–7
2 NO Tyrone Young 18 yard pass from Richard Todd (Morten Andersen kick)NO 14–12
2 ATL Gerald Riggs 3 yard run (Mick Luckhurst kick)ATL 19–14
2 NO George Rogers 4 yard run (Morten Andersen kick) NO 21–19
3 ATL Stacey Bailey 5 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Lickhurst kick)ATL 26–21
4 ATL Gerald Riggs 1 yard run (Mick Luckhurst kick) ATL 33–21
4 NO John Tice 3 yard pass from Richard Todd (Morten Andersen kick) ATL 33–28
4 ATL Mick Luckhurst 48 yard field goal ATL 36–28
[ 3]
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
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Game information
First quarter
Lions – Billy Sims 9 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) – Lions 7–0
Lions – Eddie Murray 46 yard field goal – Lions 10–0
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Falcons – Stacey Bailey 29 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick) – Tie 24–24
Overtime
Lions – Eddie Murray 48 yard field goal – Lions 27–24
Lions
Gary Danielson 21/32, 250 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Billy Sims 23 Rush, 140 Yds, TD
David Lewis 4 Rec, 68 Yds, TD
Falcons
Steve Bartkowski 24/28, 299 yds, 2 TD
Gerald Riggs 19 Rush, 78 Yds, TD
Billy Johnson 8 Rec, 116 Yds, TD
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
MIN – Jan Stenerud 54-yard field goal, 14:29. Vikings 6–3. Drive:
ATL – Mick Luckhurst 43-yard field goal, 6:04. Tie 6–6. Drive:
Third quarter
MIN – Leo Lewis 42-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Jan Stenerud kick), 12:10. Vikings 13–6. Drive:
ATL – Stacey Bailey 57-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick), 9:58. Tie 13–13. Drive:
MIN – Steve Jordan 21-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Jan Stenerud kick), 5:50. Vikings 20–13. Drive:
MIN – Dwight Collins 43-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Jan Stenerud kick), 1:59. Vikings 27–13. Drive:
Fourth quarter
ATL – Billy Johnson 32-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick), 5:43. Vikings 27–20. Drive:
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
[ 4]
Point spread : 49ers by 6
Over/Under: 49.5 (under)
Time of Game:
Falcons
Game Statistics
49ers
22
First downs
17
35–161
Rushes–yards
32–161
267
Passing yards
149
22–41–2
Passes
13–25–0
2–10
Sacked–yards
0–0
257
Net passing yards
149
418
Total yards
310
48
Return yards
62
4–38.8
Punts
5–43.8
3–1
Fumbles–lost
3–2
5–45
Penalties–yards
5–56
34:57
Time of Possession
25:03
1
2 3 4 Total
• Saints
10
0 0 7
17
Falcons
0
10 3 0
13
[ 5]
[ 6]
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
SF
Passing
Joe Montana
12/24, 165 YDS, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing
Wendell Tyler
15 CAR, 69 YDS
Receiving
Earl Cooper
4 REC, 51 YDS
ATL
Passing
Mike Moroski
22/43, 289 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INTs
Rushing
Gerald Riggs
30 CAR, 133 YDS, 1 TD
Receiving
Alfred Jackson
11 REC, 193 YDS, 1 TD
Point spread : 49ers by 13
Over/Under: 40.0 (over)
Time of Game:
49ers
Game Statistics
Falcons
15
First downs
23
31–143
Rushes–yards
36–153
165
Passing yards
289
12–24–2
Passes
22–43–3
2–18
Sacked–yards
3–28
147
Net passing yards
261
290
Total yards
414
224
Return yards
112
5–39.6
Punts
4–40.8
1–1
Fumbles–lost
3–3
9–73
Penalties–yards
8–50
24:33
Time of Possession
35:27
Gerald Riggs , Franchise Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 202 Yards (September 2, 1984) [ 7]