2018 Atlanta Falcons season

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
2018 Atlanta Falcons
)


2018 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerArthur Blank
General managerThomas Dimitroff
Head coachDan Quinn
Home fieldMercedes-Benz Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place2nd NFC South
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersWR Julio Jones
C Alex Mack
TE Austin Hooper
T Jake Matthews
Uniform

The 2018 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 53rd in the National Football League, their second playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (the venue for Super Bowl LIII) and their fourth under head coach Dan Quinn. The Falcons attempted to be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium as an expected Super Bowl contender. However, the Falcons were riddled with injuries, losing 7 starters to IR with the Falcons stumbling to a 1–4 start.

Following a 31–17 loss to the Saints in Week 12, the Falcons fell to 4–7 and failed to match their 10–6 campaign from 2017. With a 34–20 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Falcons fell to 4–9 and suffered their first losing season since the 2014 season. Despite beating the Arizona Cardinals 40–14 in Week 15, the Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2015 with a win by the Minnesota Vikings. However, they were able to end their season with a 3 game win streak to finish 7–9.

Roster changes

Free agents

Unrestricted

Position Player 2018 Team Date signed Contract
CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson Atlanta Falcons March 5, 2018 1 year, $880,000
K Matt Bryant Atlanta Falcons March 10, 2018 3 years, $10.1 million
WR Taylor Gabriel Chicago Bears March 13, 2018 4 years, $26 million
DT Dontari Poe Carolina Panthers March 15, 2018 3 years, $28 million

Draft

2018 Atlanta Falcons Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 26 Calvin Ridley WR Alabama
2 58 Isaiah Oliver CB Colorado
3 90 Deadrin Senat DT South Florida
4 126 Ito Smith RB Southern Miss
6 194 Russell Gage WR LSU from Los Angeles Rams
200 Foyesade Oluokun LB Yale

Draft trades

  • The Falcons traded their fifth-round selection (163rd overall) to Denver in exchange for offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo.[1]
  • The Falcons were awarded a seventh-round
    compensatory pick
    (256th overall).
  • The Falcons traded both of their seventh-round selections (244th and 256th overall) to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' sixth-round selection (194th overall).[2]

Staff

2018 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Dan Quinn
  • Assistant head coach/pass game coordinator – Raheem Morris
  • Assistant to the head coach – Steve Scarnecchia

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Keith Armstrong
  • Assistant special teams – Mayur Chaudhari

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Jesse Ackerman
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Jonas Beauchemin
  • Assistant strength – Brandon Ireland

Final roster

2018 Atlanta Falcons final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 37
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 24
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 65
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 47
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 67
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 22
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 90
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 25
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 8 inactive, 11 practice squad

Preseason

The Falcons' preseason opponents and schedule was announced on April 11.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 10 at New York Jets L 0–17 0–1 MetLife Stadium Recap
2 August 17 Kansas City Chiefs L 14–28 0–2 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
3 August 25 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 6–17 0–3
EverBank Field
Recap
4 August 30 Miami Dolphins L 7–34 0–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 12–18 0–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
2 September 16 Carolina Panthers W 31–24 1–1 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
3 September 23 New Orleans Saints L 37–43 (OT) 1–2 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
4 September 30 Cincinnati Bengals L 36–37 1–3 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
5 October 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–41 1–4
Heinz Field
Recap
6 October 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 34–29 2–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
7 October 22 New York Giants W 23–20 3–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
8 Bye
9 November 4 at Washington Redskins W 38–14 4–4
FedExField
Recap
10 November 11 at Cleveland Browns L 16–28 4–5
FirstEnergy Stadium
Recap
11 November 18 Dallas Cowboys L 19–22 4–6 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
12 November 22 at New Orleans Saints L 17–31 4–7
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Recap
13 December 2 Baltimore Ravens L 16–26 4–8 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
14 December 9 at Green Bay Packers L 20–34 4–9 Lambeau Field Recap
15 December 16 Arizona Cardinals W 40–14 5–9 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
16 December 23 at Carolina Panthers W 24–10 6–9 Bank of America Stadium Recap
17 December 30 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 34–32 7–9 Raymond James Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Kickoff Game

Week One: Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 3 0612
Eagles 0 3 7818

at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 2: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week Two: Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Panthers 3 7 01424
Falcons 3 14 7731

at

Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints

Game information

Week 4: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week Four: Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bengals 14 14 0937
Falcons 7 17 3936

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: September 30
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 71,985
  • Referee:
    Melanie Collins
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 5: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Game information

Week 6: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Game information

Week 7: vs. New York Giants

Week Seven: New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 3 31420
Falcons 0 10 01323

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 9: at Washington Redskins

Week Nine: Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 14 71038
Redskins 0 7 7014

at

FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

Game information

Week 10: at Cleveland Browns

Week Ten: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 10 0616
Browns 7 7 14028

at

Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 11: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week Eleven: Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 3 0 31622
Falcons 0 6 31019

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: November 18
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), sunny – retractable roof open
  • Game attendance: 74,447
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 12: at New Orleans Saints

NFL on Thanksgiving Day

Week Twelve: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 0 7717
Saints 7 10 7731

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information

Week 13: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week Thirteen: Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Ravens 7 3 61026
Falcons 3 7 0616

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

The Falcons were the only NFC South team to lose to all of their AFC North opponents in 2018.

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Week Fourteen: Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 0 01320
Packers 7 13 14034

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: December 9
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 25 °F (−4 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 77,329
  • Referee: Walt Coleman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Matt Ryan eclipsed 4,000 yards, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 4,000 in at least eight consecutive seasons, joining Drew Brees (2006-2017) & Peyton Manning (2006-2014).[3] Julio Jones eclipsed 1,400 yards and became the first player in NFL history to register five consecutive seasons with at least 1,400 yards.[4]

Week 15: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week Fifteen: Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 7 0 0714
Falcons 10 16 7740

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: December 16
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 72,084
  • Referee: Shawn Smith
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Ronde Barber and Sara Walsh
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Despite this win, the loss by Miami to Minnesota eliminated the Falcons from post-season contention and once again assures that the Super Bowl host team will not play the championship game on their own field.

Week 16: at Carolina Panthers

Week Sixteen: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 3 14024
Panthers 7 3 0010

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Date: December 23
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 73,722
  • Referee:
    Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information