1984 Atlanta Falcons season

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.

1984 Atlanta Falcons season
General manager	Tom Braatz
Head coach	Dan Henning
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	4th NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Mike Kenn

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Draft

1984 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Rick Bryan	Defensive end	Oklahoma
2	32	Scott Case *	Defensive back	Oklahoma
2	36	Thomas Benson	Linebacker	Oklahoma
3	63	Rod McSwain	Defensive back	Clemson
4	94	Rydell Melancon	Linebacker	LSU
5	132	Cliff Benson	Tight end	Purdue
6	148	Ben Bennett	Quarterback	Duke
6	163	Dan Ralph	Defensive tackle	Oregon
7	175	Kirk Dodge	Linebacker	UNLV
8	206	Jeff Jackson	Linebacker	Auburn
9	233	Glen Howe	Offensive tackle	Southern Miss
10	260	Derrick Franklin	Defensive back	Fresno State
11	287	Tommy Norman	Wide receiver	Jackson State
12	318	Don Holmes	Wide receiver	Colorado Mesa
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

NFL supplemental draft

Main article: 1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players

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.

1984 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Joey Jones	Wide receiver	Alabama
2	36	Mike McInnis	Defensive tackle	Arkansas–Pine Bluff
3	63	Dennis Woodberry	Defensive back	Southern Arkansas
Made roster

Personnel

Staff

1984 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. Executive vice president/chief operating officer – Eddie LeBaron General manager – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head coach – Dan Henning Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/running backs – Steve Crosby Receivers – Bob Harrison Offensive line – Bob Fry Assistant offensive line – Garry Puetz

Defensive coaches Assistant head coach/defensive line – Dan Sekanovich Defensive coordinator – John Marshall Linebackers – Bobby Jackson Secondary – Jack Stanton Special teams coaches Special teams – Ted Fritsch Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – George Dostal

Roster

1984 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 16 David Archer 10 Steve Bartkowski 15 Mike Moroski Running backs (RB) 39 Cliff Austin 21 Lynn Cain 49 Allama Matthews 42 Gerald Riggs 32 Tim Tyrrell Wide receivers (WR) 82 Stacey Bailey 89 William Curran 85 Alfred Jackson 81 Billy Johnson 41 Virgil Seay 85 Sylvester Stamps 86 Perry Tuttle Tight ends (TE) 87 Cliff Benson 80 Mike Landrum

Offensive linemen (OL) 70 Mike Chapman C 78 Mike Kenn T 62 Brett Miller G 64 Joe Pellegrini G 67 Eric Sanders T 61 John Scully G 68 R.C. Thielemann G 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen (DL) 69 Dan Benish DT 77 Rick Bryan DT 73 Gary Burley DT 74 Mike Pitts DE 72 Andrew Provence DT 65 Don Smith DE 79 Jeff Yeates DE

Linebackers (LB) 53 Thomas Benson 50 Buddy Curry 54 Fulton Kuykendall 55 Dave Levenick 59 John Rade 52 Rydell Malancon 96 Johnny Taylor Defensive backs (DB) 26 James Britt CB 23 Bobby Butler CB 25 Scott Case FS 34 Blane Gaison 27 Tom Pridemore FS 48 Gerald Small Special teams 1 Ralph Giacomarro P 18 Mick Luckhurst K

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

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	October 22	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	November 5	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.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 5 14 7 10 36 Saints 7 14 0 7 28 Date: September 2 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome) Referee: Gene Barth

Scoring summary 1 ATL Mick Luckhurst 38 yard field goal ATL 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

Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Lions	10	7	7	0	3	27
Falcons	0	10	7	7	0	24

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: Sunday, September 9
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 70 °F or 21.1 °C, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Referee: Fred Silva
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

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 Lions – David Lewis 11 yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick) – Lions 17–0 Falcons – Gerald Riggs 1 yard run (Mick Luckhurst kick) – Lions 17–7 Falcons – Mick Luckhurst 51 yard field goal – Lions 17–10 Third quarter Falcons – Billy Johnson 45 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Mick Luckhurst kick) – Tie 17–17 Lions – Leonard Thompson 11 yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick) – Lions 24–17 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

Week 3 at Vikings

See also: 1984 Minnesota Vikings season

Week Three: Atlanta Falcons (1–1) at Minnesota Vikings (0–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	3	7	7	20
Vikings	3	3	21	0	27

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Date: September 16
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Indoors (dome)
• Game attendance: 53,955
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter ATL – Mick Luckhurst 33-yard field goal, 7:32. Falcons 3–0. Drive: MIN – Jan Stenerud 22-yard field goal, 3:39. Tie 3–3. Drive: 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 ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 14/24, 195 yards, 2 TD, INT MIN – Tommy Kramer – 15/30, 203 yards, 2 TD Top rushers ATL – Gerald Riggs – 17 rushes, 83 yards MIN – Darrin Nelson – 15 rushes, 96 yards Top receivers ATL – Stacey Bailey – 4 receptions, 102 yards, TD MIN – Leo Lewis – 3 receptions, 69 yards, TD

Week 5 (Sunday, September 30, 1984): at San Francisco 49ers

Week 5: Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons (2–3)	3	0	0	2	5
49ers (5–0)	0	14	0	0	14

at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California

• Date: September 30, 1984
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 14
• Game attendance: 57,990
• Referee: Bob McElwee
• TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
ATL	Passing	Steve Bartkowski	22/41, 267 YDS, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Gerald Riggs	28 CAR, 136 YDS
	Receiving	Stacey Bailey	4 REC, 97 YDS
SF	Passing	Joe Montana	13/25, 149 YDS, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Wendell Tyler	12 CAR, 99 YDS
	Receiving	Mike Wilson	3 REC, 47 YDS, 1 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ATL SF 1 1:29 Falcons 22-yard field goal by Luckhurst 3 0 2 4:07 49ers Francis 5-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good 3 7 2 0:27 49ers Wilson 21-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good 3 14 4 1:45 — — — Falcons Runager tackled in the end zone by Case for a safety 5 14 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 5 14

• 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

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Saints 10 0 0 7 17 Falcons 0 10 3 0 13 Date: November 11 Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Referee: Dick Jorgensen

Week 14 (Sunday, December 2, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 14: San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers (13–1)	7	14	7	7	35
Falcons (3–11)	3	7	7	0	17

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: December 2, 1984
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C); wind 9
• Game attendance: 29,644
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP SF ATL 1 11:38 Falcons 32-yard field goal by Luckhurst 0 3 1 9:49 49ers Solomon 64-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good 7 3 2 14:50 49ers Clark 6-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good 14 3 2 3:04 Falcons Riggs 2-yard touchdown run, Luckhurst kick good 14 10 2 1:21 — — — 49ers Fumble recovery returned 34 yards for touchdown by Johnson, Wersching kick good 21 10 3 7:41 Falcons Jackson 48-yard touchdown reception from Moroski, Luckhurst kick good 21 17 3 1:31 — — — 49ers Interception returned 54 yards for touchdown by McLemore, Wersching kick good 28 17 4 9:01 49ers Craig 5-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good 35 17 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 17

• 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

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers(1)	15	1	0	.938	6–0	12–0	475	227	W9
Los Angeles Rams(4)	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	346	316	L1
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	298	361	W1
Atlanta Falcons	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	281	382	W1

Awards and records

• Gerald Riggs, Franchise Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 202 Yards (September 2, 1984)

External links

• 1984 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com