# 2005 Atlanta Falcons season

The 2005 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 40th in the National Football League (NFL). It began with the team trying to defend their NFC South division title and 11–5 record in 2004. The Falcons started 6–2, but injuries on defense caused them to finish the second half 2–6 to finish the season with a .500 record.
Bright spots included the Falcons ending their Monday Night Football jinx by going 3–0, and on Thursday, November 24, the Falcons played on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in franchise history with a 27–7 victory over the Detroit Lions. On the next to last game of the regular season, the Falcons were eliminated from postseason contention with a 27–24 overtime loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons failed to improve over their 11–5 season, once again failing to attain back-to-back winning seasons.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

2005 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 27 | Roddy White * | Wide receiver | UAB |
| 2 | 59 | Jonathan Babineaux | Defensive tackle | Iowa |
| 3 | 90 | Jordan Beck | Linebacker | Cal Poly |
| 4 | 128 | Chauncey Davis | Defensive end | Florida State |
| 5 | 160 | Michael Boley | Linebacker | Southern Miss |
| 5 | 163 | Frank Omiyale | Offensive tackle | Tennessee Tech |
| 6 | 201 | DeAndra Cobb | Running back | Michigan State |
| 7 | 241 | Darrell Shropshire | Defensive tackle | South Carolina |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule
### Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
| 1 | August 6 | Indianapolis Colts | W 27–21 | 1–0 | Tokyo Dome (Tokyo) | Recap |
| 2 | August 13 | Baltimore Ravens | W 16–3 | 2–0 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 3 | August 19 | Tennessee Titans | L 21–24 | 2–1 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 4 | August 25 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 23–7 | 3–1 | ALLTEL Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | September 1 | at Miami Dolphins | W 20–17 | 4–1 | Dolphins Stadium | Recap |

### Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
| 1 | September 12 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 14–10 | 1–0 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 2 | September 18 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 18–21 | 1–1 | Qwest Field | Recap |
| 3 | September 25 | at Buffalo Bills | W 24–16 | 2–1 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 2 | Minnesota Vikings | W 30–10 | 3–1 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 5 | October 9 | New England Patriots | L 28–31 | 3–2 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 6 | October 16 | at New Orleans Saints | W 34–31 | 4–2 | Alamodome | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | New York Jets | W 27–14 | 5–2 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | November 6 | at Miami Dolphins | W 17–10 | 6–2 | Dolphins Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 13 | Green Bay Packers | L 25–33 | 6–3 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 11 | November 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 27–30 | 6–4 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 12 | November 24 | at Detroit Lions | W 27–7 | 7–4 | Ford Field | Recap |
| 13 | December 4 | at Carolina Panthers | L 6–24 | 7–5 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | New Orleans Saints | W 36–17 | 8–5 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 15 | December 18 | at Chicago Bears | L 3–16 | 8–6 | Soldier Field | Recap |
| 16 | December 24 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 24–27 (OT) | 8–7 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 1 | Carolina Panthers | L 11–44 | 8–8 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
* ↑ Due to damages from Hurricane Katrina, the Saints' were forced to host their home games elsewhere.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1 vs Eagles

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Falcons | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Georgia Dome • Atlanta, Georgia
* Date: September 12
* Game time: 9:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 70,806
* Referee: Walt Coleman
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden, and Michele Tafoya
* Gamebook
Game information :
Eagles
Donovan McNabb 24/54, 257 Yds, TD, INT
Brian Westbrook 12 Rush, 47 Yds
Terrell Owens 7 Rec, 112 Yds
Falcons
Michael Vick 12/23, 156 Yds, INT
Warrick Dunn 21 Rush, 117 Yds
Michael Jenkins 3 Rec, 80 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | PHI | ATL |
| 1 | 3:06 | 6 | 58 | 2:45 | Falcons | Michael Vick 7-yard touchdown run, Todd Peterson kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 0:09 | 3 | 64 | 1:29 | Falcons | T.J. Duckett 1-yard touchdown run, Todd Peterson kick good | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 11:21 | 9 | 78 | 3:48 | Eagles | Brian Westbrook 9-yard touchdown reception from Donovan McNabb, David Akers kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | 9:20 | 10 | 54 | 3:54 | Eagles | 44-yard field goal by David Akers | 10 | 14 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10 | 14 |

## Standings

NFC South :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 300 | 274 | W2 |
| $^{(5)}$ Carolina Panthers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 391 | 259 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 351 | 341 | L3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 1–11 | 235 | 398 | L5 |

## Images

* The Thanksgiving Day game between the Falcons and the Detroit Lions
* Vick scanning the field against the New Orleans Saints