# 2000 Atlanta Falcons season

The 2000 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons offense scored 252 points while the defense gave up 413 points. It was Jessie Tuggle’s 14th and final season with the Falcons, before being waived in the 2001 off-season. He subsequently retired. As for the rest of the team, Atlanta failed to improve upon its 5–11 record from 1999; instead they finished the season 4–12 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season after reaching Super Bowl XXXIII in 1998.
The last remaining active members of the 2000 Atlanta Falcons were linebacker Keith Brooking and offensive lineman Todd McClure, who both retired after the 2012 season.

## Offseason
### Signings

| Position | Player | 1999 team | Date signed | Contract |
| CB | Ashley Ambrose | New Orleans Saints | February 12 | Undisclosed |
| WR | Shawn Jefferson | New England Patriots | February 12 | Undisclosed |
| G | Anthony Redmon | Carolina Panthers | March 22 | Undisclosed |
| RB | Ron Rivers | Detroit Lions | June 30 | Undisclosed |
| DE | Brady Smith | New Orleans Saints | February 19 | Undisclosed |

### Departures

| Position | Player | Reason | 2000 team |
| DE | Lester Archambeau | UFA | Denver Broncos |
| WR | Chris Calloway | Released | New England Patriots |
| DB | Eugene Robinson | UFA | Carolina Panthers |
| LB | Craig Sauer | UFA | Minnesota Vikings |
| DE | Chuck Smith | UFA | Carolina Panthers |
| OL | Robbie Tobeck | UFA | Seattle Seahawks |

### NFL Draft

2000 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 37 | Travis Claridge | Guard | USC |
| 3 | 67 | Mark Simoneau | Linebacker | Kansas State |
| 4 | 100 | Michael Thompson | Offensive tackle | Tennessee State |
| 5 | 134 | Anthony Midget | Defensive back | Virginia Tech |
| 6 | 172 | Mareno Philyaw | Wide receiver | Troy State |
| 7 | 211 | Darrick Vaughn | Defensive back | Texas State |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2000 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Jake Arians | Kicker | UAB |
| Doug Johnson | Quarterback | Florida |
| Dallas Neil | Tight end | Montana |
| Derek Rackley | Long snapper/Tight end | Minnesota |
| Maurice Smith | Running back | North Carolina A&T |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | July 29 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 20–13 | 1–0 | RCA Dome |
| 2 | August 5 | vs. Dallas Cowboys | W 20–9 | 2–0 | Tokyo Dome (Tokyo) |
| 3 | August 11 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 31–16 | 3–0 | Georgia Dome |
| 4 | August 18 | San Diego Chargers | L 14–28 | 3–1 | Georgia Dome |
| 5 | August 24 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 31–20 | 4–1 | Alltel Stadium |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 3 | San Francisco 49ers | W 36–28 | 1–0 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 2 | September 10 | at Denver Broncos | L 14–42 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 17 | at Carolina Panthers | W 15–10 | 2–1 | Ericsson Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | St. Louis Rams | L 20–41 | 2–2 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 5 | October 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–38 | 2–3 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 8 | New York Giants | L 6–13 | 2–4 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 7 | October 15 | at St. Louis Rams | L 29–45 | 2–5 | Trans World Dome | Recap |
| 8 | October 22 | New Orleans Saints | L 19–21 | 2–6 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 9 | October 29 | Carolina Panthers | W 13–12 | 3–6 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 10 | November 5 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 14–27 | 3–7 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 11 | November 12 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–13 | 3–8 | Pontiac Silverdome | Recap |
| 12 | November 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 6–16 | 3–9 | 3Com Park | Recap |
| 13 | November 26 | at Oakland Raiders | L 14–41 | 3–10 | Network Associates Coliseum | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | Seattle Seahawks | L 10–30 | 3–11 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 15 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 16 | December 17 | at New Orleans Saints | L 7–23 | 3–12 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap |
| 17 | December 24 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 29–13 | 4–12 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ New Orleans Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 354 | 305 | L1 |
| $^{(6)}$ St. Louis Rams | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 540 | 471 | W1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 310 | 310 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 388 | 422 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 252 | 413 | W1 |

## Awards and records

* Terance Mathis, Franchise Record, Most Receptions in One Season, 111 Receptions (Broken by Roddy White in 2010)