Atlanta Falcons tickets are now on sale here at Front Row USA. Get your Atlanta Falcons tickets today and see if new head coach, Mike Smith, and first round draft pick, QB Matt Ryan, will make a difference!

A Brief History of the Atlanta Falcons

   The Atlanta Falcons began playing in the NFL in 1966 as an expansion team. The Falcons were owned by Rankin Smith, Sr. The nickname Falcons was selected from entries in a contest during the spring of 1966. Norb Hecker was named as their first head coach and they played their home games at Atlanta-Fulton county stadium. The Atlanta Falcons drafted LB Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas as their first ever NFL draft pick. The Falcons lost their first nine games in 1966 before finally breaking through for their first ever victory in the tenth game of the season with a 27-16 win over the New York Giants. The Falcons ended the 1966 season with a 3-11 record but their Rookie LB, Nobis, was named NFL rookie of the year and became the first ever Falcon selected to the Pro Bowl.

The 1967 season was worse than their first season as the Falcons finished the season with only 1 victory. A 0-3 start to the 1968 season prompted Smith to replace coach Hecker with Norm Van Brocklin. The Atlanta Falcons finished the 1968 season with a 2-12 record. The 1969 season started off with the Falcons winning their first opener in team history. The Falcons finished the 1969 season with their best season record of 6-8. The Falcons had their first ever winning season in 1971 with a 7-6-1 record. By 1974, Smith was ready for another change as he replaced Norm Van Brocklin in midseason with Marion Campbell.

   In 1978, under new head coach Leeman Bennett; the Falcons make the NFL playoffs for the first time in franchise history with a 9-7 record. They won their first ever playoff game vs the Philadelphia Eagles but lost the next week to the Dallas Cowboys. The Falcons failed to make the playoffs in 1979 with a 6-10 record but returned in 1980 to win their first division title finishing with a 12-4 record. The Falcons had one of the best teams in the NFL in 1980 but lost a heart breaker at home to the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round of the playoffs by giving up 2 late touchdowns losing 30-27. The Falcons made the playoffs again after the 1982 season but lost in the first round to the Vikings.

   The Atlanta Falcons struggled through the remainder of the 1980s then in 1990 they hired ex-defensive coordinator, Jerry Glanville, as the new head coach. Glanville led the Falcons to the playoffs in 1991 but once again they lost their first game; this time to the Redskins. Glanville was eventually replaced with June Jones. In 1992 the Falcons began playing their home games in the new state of the art Georgia Dome that housed over 71,000 football fans. June Jones led the Falcons to the playoffs in 1995 but they lost to the Packers in the first round. Dan Reeves took over the head coaching duties in 1997 and led the Falcons to their second division title in 1998. The Falcons beat the 49er's in the first round and then beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. The Falcons would lose Super Bowl XXIII to the Denver Broncos but that would not spoil the finest season the Atlanta Falcons had ever seen.

   The Atlanta Falcons would fail to make the playoffs during the next 3 seasons but they returned in 2002 and became the first team to ever beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau field in the history of the NFL. An injury to star QB Michael Vick during the preseason of 2003 led to a disappointing 5-11 record, which eventually led the Falcons to replace Dan Reeves with Jim Mora, Jr. Mora led the Falcons to the third division title in their history in 2004. The Falcons would eventually lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.

   Expectations were high going into the 2005 season but inconsistency and injuries kept the Falcons from securing their first ever back-to-back winning season. In 2006, the Falcons again had a losing season; with a 7-9 record. Mora was let go, and Bobby Petrino became the new head coach in 2007. QB Michael Vick was placed under indefinite suspension by the NFL in 2007 for dog fighting in Virginia. He was sentenced to 23 months in Dec. Petrino resigned after his 13th game to go and become head coach at the University of Arkansas. Emmitt Thomas was appointed interim coach. The Falcons finished a miserable season with a 4-12 record. So, get your Atlanta Falcons tickets today, because there's a new coach and new QB in town!