# 1982 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1982 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team qualified for the postseason and won the NFC West for the second time in three years. Due to the players strike, this was not recognized as divisions were dissolved for this year only. As the lone NFC West team to qualify for the playoffs, Falcons were considered the 1982 first place team when 1983 matchups were determined. The Falcons were the first team to get a taste of being the best in the NFC West during the 49ers' dynasty, as the 49ers, from 1981 to 1997, would hog 13 of 17 NFC West pennants.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1982 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 9 | Gerald Riggs * | Running back | Arizona State |
| 2 | 36 | Doug Rogers | Defensive end | Stanford |
| 3 | 63 | Stacey Bailey | Wide receiver | San Jose State |
| 4 | 95 | Reggie Brown | Running back | Oregon |
| 5 | 122 | Von Mansfield | Defensive back | Wisconsin |
| 6 | 149 | Mike Kelley | Quarterback | Georgia Tech |
| 7 | 176 | David Toloumu | Running back | Hawaii |
| 8 | 203 | Ricky Eberhardt | Defensive back | Morris Brown |
| 9 | 235 | Mike Horan | Punter | Long Beach State |
| 10 | 262 | Curtis Stowers | Linebacker | Mississippi State |
| 11 | 288 | Jeff Keller | Wide receiver | Washington State |
| 12 | 315 | Dave Levenick | Linebacker | Wisconsin |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Attendance | Game recap |
| 1 | September 12 | at New York Giants | W 16–14 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | 74,286 | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 14–38 | 1–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 54,774 | Recap |
| 3 | — | at Kansas City Chiefs | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 4 | — | San Diego Chargers | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 5 | — | at Los Angeles Rams | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 6 | — | at Detroit Lions | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 7 | — | San Francisco 49ers | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 8 | — | at New Orleans Saints | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 | Rescheduled to January 2 |
| 9 | — | at Chicago Bears | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 10 | — | Philadelphia Eagles | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † | Cancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike † |
| 11 | November 21 | Los Angeles Rams | W 34–17 | 2–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 39,686 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 20–23 | 2–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 33,411 | Recap |
| 13 | December 5 | at Denver Broncos | W 34–27 | 3–2 | Mile High Stadium | 73,984 | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | New Orleans Saints | W 35–0 | 4–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 39,535 | Recap |
| 15 | December 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 17–7 | 5–2 | Candlestick Park | 53,234 | Recap |
| 16 | December 26 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–38 | 5–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 50,245 | Recap |
| 17 | January 2, 1983 | at New Orleans Saints | L 6–35 | 5–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 47,336 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Game site | Attendance | Game recap |
| Wild Card | January 9 | at Minnesota Vikings (4) | L 24–30 | 0–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 60,560 | Recap |

## Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Atlanta Falcons$^{(5)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 2–1 | 3–5 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
NFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 |
| 5 | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| 10 | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 |
| 11 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 3 4 Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games. 1 2 3 Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5). 1 2 3 San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5). |||||||||