# 1991 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1991 Atlanta Falcons season was the team's 26th season in the National Football League (NFL). It was also the final season they played at Fulton County Stadium, before moving into the Georgia Dome the following season. The season would be the most successful Atlanta had compiled in almost a decade, with the team recording a winning record and clinching a playoff berth for the first time in nine years. Additionally, the Falcons won their first playoff game since 1978, by defeating the New Orleans Saints 27–20 in the NFC Wild Card Game. The following they would lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins 24–7 in the divisional round.
The last remaining active member of the 1991 Atlanta Falcons was quarterback Brett Favre, who retired after the 2010 season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

The Falcons’ most notable selection in the 1991 NFL draft was future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, who was drafted in the second round, 33rd overall. Head coach Jerry Glanville disapproved of the selection and said it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game. Favre's first pass in an NFL regular season game resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown. He only attempted four passes in his career at Atlanta, completing none of them. After the season ended, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers, where he remained for the following sixteen seasons. He went on to lead the Packers to eleven playoff appearances, two Super Bowl appearances, and their third Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXI. Favre also won three consecutive MVP awards, and was a 9-time Pro Bowler during his tenure in Green Bay.
1991 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 3 | Bruce Pickens | Cornerback | Nebraska |
| 1 | 13 | Mike Pritchard | Wide receiver | Colorado |
| 2 | 33 | Brett Favre * $^†$ | Quarterback | Southern Mississippi |
| 4 | 87 | Moe Gardner | Defensive tackle | Illinois |
| 5 | 114 | James Goode | Linebacker | Oklahoma |
| 6 | 145 | Erric Pegram | Running back | North Texas |
| 7 | 172 | Brian Mitchell | Cornerback | BYU |
| 7 | 186 | Mark Tucker | Guard | USC |
| 8 | 199 | Randy Austin | Tight end | UCLA |
| 9 | 226 | Ernie Logan | Defensive tackle | East Carolina |
| 10 | 256 | Walter Sutton | Wide receiver | Southwest Minnesota State |
| 10 | 258 | Pete Lucas | Offensive tackle | Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
| 11 | 283 | Joe Sims | Offensive tackle | Nebraska |
| 12 | 310 | Bob Christian | Fullback | Northwestern |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 3 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | W 38–17 | 1–0 | Gator Bowl | 66,531 |
| 2 | August 9 | at Houston Oilers | W 36–7 | 2–0 | Houston Astrodome | 52,170 |
| 3 | August 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 7–12 | 2–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 41,983 |
| 4 | August 23 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 17–20 (OT) | 2–2 | Texas Stadium | 53,689 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 1 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 3–14 | 0–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | 74,246 | Recap |
| 2 | September 8 | Minnesota Vikings | L 19–20 | 0–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 50,936 | Recap |
| 3 | September 15 | at San Diego Chargers | W 13–10 | 1–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 44,804 | Recap |
| 4 | September 22 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 21–17 | 2–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 53,615 | Recap |
| 5 | September 29 | New Orleans Saints | L 6–27 | 2–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 56,556 | Recap |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 13 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 39–34 | 3–3 | Candlestick Park | 57,343 | Recap |
| 8 | October 20 | at Phoenix Cardinals | L 10–16 | 3–4 | Sun Devil Stadium | 29,804 | Recap |
| 9 | October 27 | Los Angeles Rams | W 31–14 | 4–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 50,187 | Recap |
| 10 | November 3 | San Francisco 49ers | W 17–14 | 5–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 51,259 | Recap |
| 11 | November 10 | at Washington Redskins | L 17–56 | 5–5 | RFK Stadium | 52,461 | Recap |
| 12 | November 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 43–7 | 6–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 41,274 | Recap |
| 13 | November 24 | at New Orleans Saints | W 23–20 (OT) | 7–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,591 | Recap |
| 14 | December 1 | Green Bay Packers | W 35–31 | 8–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 43,270 | Recap |
| 15 | December 8 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 31–14 | 9–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 35,315 | Recap |
| 16 | December 15 | Seattle Seahawks | W 26–13 | 10–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 53,834 | Recap |
| 17 | December 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 27–31 | 10–6 | Texas Stadium | 60,962 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ New Orleans Saints | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 341 | 211 | W2 |
| $^{(6)}$ Atlanta Falcons | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 7–5 | 361 | 338 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 393 | 239 | W6 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 0–6 | 2–10 | 234 | 390 | L10 |

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Vikings | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Falcons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 19 |

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Falcons | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Chargers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| • Falcons | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Saints | 3 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| Falcons | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Falcons | 14 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 39 |
| 49ers | 0 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 34 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 16 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| • Falcons | 7 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
* Michael Haynes 4 Rec, 110 Yds

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| • Redskins | 7 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 56 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Falcons | 0 | 33 | 3 | 7 | 43 |

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • Falcons | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| Saints | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 31 |
| • Falcons | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 35 |

#### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Falcons | 10 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Rams | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

#### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seahawks | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| • Falcons | 2 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 26 |

#### Week 17

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 14 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 27 |
| • Cowboys | 21 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 31 |

## Playoffs
### Wild card

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Falcons | 0 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Saints | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Falcons quarterback Chris Miller completed the game Winning 61 yard touchdown pass to Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest. Miller completed 18 out of 30 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.

### Divisional

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Redskins | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
During their regular season meeting, Washington defeated Atlanta 56–17, with quarterback Mark Rypien throwing for 446 yards and 6 touchdowns. In this game the score was closer, but the result was still the same.
Under rainy and muddy conditions, the Redskins forced six turnovers, held the ball for over 36 minutes, and scored two touchdowns in a span of 3:11 in the second quarter.