# 1988 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1988 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise’s 23rd season in the National Football League (NFL). The team was marred by tragedy when cornerback David Croudip died on October 10 after a cocaine overdose. It would be the first of three player deaths of the team in the space of two seasons.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1988 Atlanta Falcons draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 1 | Aundray Bruce | Linebacker | Auburn |
| 2 | 28 | Marcus Cotton | Linebacker | USC |
| 3 | 56 | Alex Higdon | Tight end | Ohio State |
| 5 | 110 | Charles Dimry | Cornerback | UNLV |
| 6 | 138 | George Thomas | Wide receiver | UNLV |
| 6 | 140 | Houston Hoover | Guard | Jackson State |
| 7 | 166 | Michael Haynes | Wide receiver | Northern Arizona |
| 8 | 194 | Phillip Brown | Linebacker | Alabama |
| 9 | 222 | James Primus | Running back | UCLA |
| 10 | 250 | Stan Clayton | Guard | Penn State |
| 11 | 278 | James Milling | Wide receiver | Maryland |
| 12 | 306 | Carter Wiley | Safety | Virginia Tech |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1988 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Ted Bates | Defensive end | Norfolk State |
| Chris Clauss | Punter | Penn State |
| Mark Comalander | Quarterback | Rice |
| Robert Houghilin | Kicker | Iowa |
| Danny James | Wide receiver | Morehouse |
| Gary McGuire | Linebacker | Houston |
| Vinson Smith | Linebacker | East Carolina |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 4 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–31 | 0–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | 31,075 |
| 2 | September 11 | New Orleans Saints | L 21–29 | 0–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 48,901 |
| 3 | September 18 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 34–17 | 1–2 | Candlestick Park | 60,168 |
| 4 | September 25 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 20–26 | 1–3 | Texas Stadium | 39,702 |
| 5 | October 2 | Seattle Seahawks | L 20–31 | 1–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 28,619 |
| 6 | October 9 | Los Angeles Rams | L 0–33 | 1–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 30,852 |
| 7 | October 16 | at Denver Broncos | L 14–30 | 1–6 | Mile High Stadium | 75,287 |
| 8 | October 23 | New York Giants | L 16–23 | 1–7 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 45,092 |
| 9 | October 30 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–24 | 2–7 | Veterans Stadium | 60,091 |
| 10 | November 6 | Green Bay Packers | W 20–0 | 3–7 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 29,952 |
| 11 | November 13 | San Diego Chargers | L 7–10 | 3–8 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 26,329 |
| 12 | November 20 | at Los Angeles Raiders | W 12–6 | 4–8 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 40,967 |
| 13 | November 27 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–10 | 5–8 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 14,020 |
| 14 | December 4 | San Francisco 49ers | L 3–13 | 5–9 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 44,048 |
| 15 | December 11 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 7–22 | 5–10 | Anaheim Stadium | 42,828 |
| 16 | December 18 | at New Orleans Saints | L 9–10 | 5–11 | Louisiana Superdome | 60,566 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| San Francisco 49ers$^{(2)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 369 | 294 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams$^{(5)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 407 | 293 | W3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 312 | 283 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 244 | 315 | L3 |