2009 Atlanta Falcons season The 2009 Atlanta Falcons season was the 44th season for the team in the National Football League . The team looked to match or improve upon their 11 – 5 record from 2008 and return to the playoffs , however the Falcons were eliminated from contention in Week 15 . Despite not making the playoffs , the team , with a record of 9 – 7 , posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in franchise history . The only Falcon this year to play in the Pro Bowl was Roddy White . He finished the game with 8 catches and 84 yards . 2009 NFL Draft . The 2009 NFL Draft was held on April 25 and 26 , 2009 , at Radio City Music Hall in New York City . The Falcons selected eight players which included seven players on the defensive side of the ball . The Falcons also made a trade with the Dallas Cowboys , giving the Cowboys their fifth round ( 143rd overall ) pick in exchange for Dallas ’ fifth ( 156th overall ) and seventh round ( 210th overall ) selections . With the 24th selection in the first round , the Falcons selected defensive tackle and All - SEC performer Peria Jerry from Ole Miss to continue to beef up the line . Highly - regarded , hard hitting safety William Moore from Missouri was chosen in the second round and speedy corner Christopher Owens of San Jose State was the Falcons ’ third round choice . Rounding out the draft were defensive end Lawrence Sidbury of Richmond ( fourth round ) , cornerback William Middleton from Furman ( fifth round ) , tackle Garrett Reynolds of North Carolina ( fifth round ) , linebacker Spencer Adkins from Miami ( sixth round ) , and local product defensive tackle Vance Walker from Georgia Tech ( seventh round ) . Schedule . Regular season . The Falcons ' regular season schedule was released on April 14 , 2009 . Regular season results . Week 1 : vs . Miami Dolphins . The Falcons began their season at home in an inter - conference battle with the Miami Dolphins . After a scoreless first quarter , Atlanta took off in the second quarter as quarterback Matt Ryan completed a 1 - yard touchdown pass to fullback Ovie Mughelli , followed by kicker Jason Elam making a 36 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , the Falcons continued their stellar play as Ryan completed a 20 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez ( with a failed PAT ) . Atlanta would conclude its well - performed game in the fourth quarter as Elam nailed a 50 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Dolphins would get their only score of the game as quarterback Chad Pennington completed a 9 - yard touchdown pass to running back Ricky Williams . With the win , the Falcons began their season at 1 – 0 . Tony Gonzalez ( 5 receptions , 73 yards , and a TD ) would become the 21st player in NFL history to collect 11 , 000 career receiving yards . Week 2 : vs . Carolina Panthers . Coming off their win over the Dolphins , the Falcons stayed at home , donned their throwback uniforms , and prepared for a Week 2 NFC South showdown against the Carolina Panthers . Atlanta would trail early in the first quarter as Panthers kicker John Kasay got a 38 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Falcons would answer with quarterback Matt Ryan completing a 24 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez . In the second quarter , Carolina would reply with running back DeAngelo Williams getting a 3 - yard touchdown run . Atlanta would strike back as Ryan completed a 10 - yard touchdown pass to fullback Jason Snelling . The Panthers would creep close as Kasay nailed a 50 - yard field goal , yet the Falcons would increase their lead prior to halftime as Ryan completed a 7 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roddy White . After a scoreless third quarter , Atlanta would get some necessary distance from Carolina as running back Michael Turner got a 1 - yard touchdown run . Afterwards , Carolina mustered an 11 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Delhomme to tight end Dante Rosario . On another Panthers possession , Delhomme threw an interception to cornerback Chris Houston . After yet another possession , with time running out , the Panthers tried to rally as Delhomme threw a deep desperation pass , but it resulted incomplete as cornerback Brent Grimes batted it down . With the win , the Falcons improved to 2 – 0 . Week 3 : at New England Patriots . Coming off a successful two - game homestand , the Falcons flew to Gillette Stadium for a Week 3 inter - conference battle with the New England Patriots . Atlanta would take flight with a 26 - yard field goal from Jason Elam , but the Patriots would tie the game with a 21 - yard field goal from kicker Stephen Gostkowski . New England would take the lead in the second quarter with running back Fred Taylor ' s 8 - yard touchdown run , yet the Falcons answered with running back Michael Turner ' s 2 - yard touchdown run . New England would close out the half with Gostkowski ' s 33 - yard field goal . The entire second half was completely dominated by the Patriots . Gostkowski would nail a 22 - yard field goal in the third quarter and a 33 - yard field goal in the fourth quarter , while quarterback Tom Brady closed out the game with a 36 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Baker . With the loss , the Falcons went into their bye week at 2 – 1 . Week 5 : at San Francisco 49ers . Coming off their bye week , the Falcons flew to Candlestick Park for a Week 5 duel with the San Francisco 49ers . Atlanta took off in the first quarter with running back Michael Turner ' s 7 - yard touchdown run , followed by quarterback Matt Ryan hooking up with wide receiver Roddy White on a 31 - yard touchdown pass . The 49ers would answer with running back Glen Coffee getting a 2 - yard touchdown run . San Francisco would start off the second quarter with kicker Joe Nedney making a 39 - yard field goal , but the Falcons would begin to soar . It started with Ryan ' s 90 - yard touchdown pass to White and concluded with Turner ' s 3 - yard and 1 - yard touchdown runs . Atlanta would then close out the game with kicker Jason Elam ' s 40 - yard field goal in the third quarter and Ryan ' s 1 - yard touchdown run in the fourth . With the win , the Falcons improved to 3 – 1 . Atlanta ' s 35 first - half points would become the best opening half performance in franchise history . Week 6 : vs . Chicago Bears . Coming off their impressive road win over the 49ers , the Falcons went home for a Week 6 Sunday night duel with the Chicago Bears . After a scoreless first quarter , Atlanta would trail early in the second quarter as Bears quarterback Jay Cutler found wide receiver Johnny Knox on a 23 - yard touchdown pass . Afterwards , the Falcons took the lead as quarterback Matt Ryan completed a 40 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roddy White and a 10 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez . After a scoreless third quarter , Chicago would tie the game in the fourth quarter with Cutler hooking up with tight end Greg Olsen on a 2 - yard touchdown . Atlanta would regain the lead as running back Michael Turner got a 5 - yard touchdown run . Afterwards , the defense would fend off a last - second Bears drive to lock up the victory . With the win , the Falcons improved to 4 – 1 . Week 7 : at Dallas Cowboys . Coming off their Sunday night home win over the Bears , the Falcons flew to Cowboys Stadium for a Week 7 duel with the Dallas Cowboys . In the first quarter , Atlanta took flight as quarterback Matt Ryan hooked up with wide receiver Roddy White on a 4 - yard touchdown pass . The Cowboys would take the lead in the second quarter with kicker Nick Folk nailing a 38 - yard field goal , followed by quarterback Tony Romo completing a 59 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Miles Austin and a 5 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Patrick Crayton . In the third quarter , the Falcons answered with running back Michael Turner got a 2 - yard touchdown . However , Dallas came right back with Romo finding Austin again on a 22 - yard touchdown pass . The Cowboys would increase their lead in the fourth quarter with Folk booting a 46 - yard field goal , followed by Crayton returning a punt 73 yards for a touchdown . Atlanta tried to comeback as Ryan completed a 30 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Weems , but the Cowboys closed out the game with Folk ' s 34 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Falcons fell to 4 – 2 . Week 8 : at New Orleans Saints . Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Cowboys , the Falcons flew to the Louisiana Superdome for a Week 8 NFC South showdown against the undefeated New Orleans Saints on Monday night . Atlanta took flight in the first quarter as running back Michael Turner capped off the game ' s opening drive with a 13 - yard touchdown run . The Saints would respond by capping off their opening drive with a 22 - yard touchdown run from running back Pierre Thomas . Afterwards , the Falcons would regain the lead with free safety Thomas DeCoud sacking quarterback Drew Brees , which caused Brees to fumble the ball , allowing defensive end Kroy Biermann to pick the ball up and run 4 yards for a touchdown . However , New Orleans would explode with points in the second quarter as Brees hooked up with wide receiver Marques Colston on an 18 - yard touchdown pass , running back Reggie Bush getting a 1 - yard touchdown run , and cornerback Jabari Greer returning an interception 48 yards for a touchdown . Atlanta would start to rally in the third quarter as quarterback Matt Ryan completed a 68 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roddy White , followed by a 25 - yard field goal from kicker Jason Elam . However , the Saints would answer with Brees connecting with Thomas on a 1 - yard touchdown pass . The Falcons tried to comeback as Elam booted a 40 - yard field goal , but an interception from free safety Darren Sharper ended any hope of a rally . With the tough loss , Atlanta fell to 4 – 3 . This marked the first time in the Mike Smith / Matt Ryan era that the Falcons suffered consecutive losses . Week 9 : vs . Washington Redskins . Hoping to snap a two - game losing streak , the Falcons went home for a Week 9 duel with the Washington Redskins . Atlanta would take flight in the first quarter as quarterback Matt Ryan completed a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez , followed by cornerback Tye Hill returning an interception 62 yards for a touchdown . The Redskins would answer in the second quarter as kicker Shaun Suisham nailed a 48 - yard field goal , yet the Falcons kept their attack on as running back Michael Turner got a 30 - yard touchdown run , followed by kicker Jason Elam booting a 33 - yard field goal . Washington began to rally in the third quarter with a 1 - yard touchdown run from running back Ladell Betts . The Redskins would come closer in the fourth quarter as quarterback Jason Campbell hooked up with tight end Todd Yoder on a 3 - yard touchdown pass , yet Atlanta closed out the game with Turner ' s 58 - yard touchdown run . With the win , the Falcons improved to 5 – 3 . Week 10 : at Carolina Panthers . Coming off their home win over the Redskins , the Falcons flew to Bank of America Stadium for a Week 10 NFC South rematch against the Carolina Panthers . Atlanta would begin to fly in the first quarter as kicker Jason Elam nailed a 35 - yard field goal , but the Panthers would reply with a 1 - yard touchdown run from running back Jonathan Stewart . Carolina would extend their lead in the second quarter with quarterback Jake Delhomme completing a 4 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Smith , yet the Falcons would answer as fullback Jason Snelling got a 1 - yard touchdown run . The Panthers would close out the half with Delhomme hooking up with Smith again on a 4 - yard touchdown pass . In the second half , Atlanta would work their way back into the game as Elam booted a 24 - yard field goal in the third quarter , followed by quarerback Matt Ryan finding tight end Justin Peelle on a 3 - yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter ( with a failed 2 - point conversion ) . However , Carolina would close out the win with Stewart ' s 45 - yard touchdown run , getting their revenge . With the loss , the Falcons fell to 5 – 4 . Week 11 : at New York Giants . Hoping to rebound from a loss against the rival Panthers , the Falcons flew to Giants Stadium for a Week 11 duel with the New York Giants . In the first quarter , the Falcons trailed early with kicker Lawrence Tynes making a 39 - yard field goal . In the second quarter the Falcons came on top with fullback Jason Snelling getting a 7 - yard touchdown run , until they fell behind with quarterback Eli Manning hooking up with tight end Kevin Boss on a 4 and a 28 - yard touchdown pass . In the third quarter , fullback Jason Snelling got a 1 - yard touchdown run for the Falcons . The Giants made it a 2 - possession game with running back Brandon Jacobs getting a 2 - yard touchdown run , until the Falcons replied with kicker Jason Elam making a 25 - yard field goal . The Giants tried to pull away in the fourth quarter with Manning passing to fullback Madison Hedgecock 3 yards for a touchdown , until the Falcons stepped up to tie the game with quarterback Matt Ryan completing a 4 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Weems , then found tight end Tony Gonzalez on an 11 - yard touchdown pass . At overtime , the Falcons lost the game with kicker Lawrence Tynes getting the game winning field goal from 36 yards away . With the loss , the Falcons fell to 5 – 5 . Week 12 : vs . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Hoping to rebound from their loss against the Giants , the Falcons went home , donned their throwback uniforms once again , and prepared for an NFC South showdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . In the first quarter , things looked bad as Matt Ryan was sacked , injured his toe , and got taken out of the game as his back - up Chris Redman got on the field . In the second quarter , the Falcons drew first blood as kicker Jason Elam nailed a 45 - yard field goal . Atlanta extended their lead as Redman threw a shovel pass to Jerious Norwood for a 22 - yard touchdown . Tampa Bay responded with Josh Freeman ' s 42 - yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant and tied the game at halftime with Connor Barth ' s 39 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Bucs safety Corey Lynch blocked a Falcons punt , which set Freeman up for an 8 - yard touchdown pass to running back Carnell Williams to take the lead . The Falcons striked back as Elam nailed a 37 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , Bucs punter Dirk Johnson faked a play which was backfired . Several plays later , Elam attempted a 43 - yard field goal , but he missed as it went too much to the left . The same happened with Bucs kicker Barth as he missed a 51 - yard field goal attempt . Atlanta was facing fourth and goal with 26 seconds remaining and no timeouts left , as Redman connected with Roddy White for a 5 - yard touchdown pass . With the win , the Falcons improved to 6 - 5 . It was later revealed that Matt Ryan would miss out several weeks . Week 13 : vs . Philadelphia Eagles . Coming off a relief home win against their rival Tampa Bay , the Falcons stayed home and got set for a Week 13 duel with the Philadelphia Eagles . Due to Matt Ryan ' s toe injury against the Bucs , Chris Redman was set to start . The Falcons trailed early as Eagles kicker David Akers made a 33 - yard field goal . After that , Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb connected with Leonard Weaver for a 4 - yard touchdown pass . In the second quarter , the Eagles extended their lead with another 33 - yard field goal from David Akers . In the third quarter , things got uglier for the Falcons as their former quarterback Michael Vick rushed 5 yards for a touchdown . The Falcons got the ball back , only for Redman to throw an interception to Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown , which he took 83 yards for a defensive touchdown . In the fourth quarter , Vick was put on the field once again and threw a 5 - yard touchdown pass to Eagles tight end Brent Celek . With time already running out , Redman threw a last second 3 - yard touchdown pass to Roddy White , only to avoid a shutout . With the loss , the Falcons fell to 6 - 6 . Week 14 : vs . New Orleans Saints . Hoping to rebound from their disappointing home loss against the Eagles , the Falcons stayed home once again and prepared for an NFC South rematch against the undefeated New Orleans Saints , with Matt Ryan still injured . In the first quarter , the Falcons drew first blood as kicker Matt Bryant nailed a 36 - yard field goal . The Saints would tie the game with kicker Garrett Hartley nailing a 33 - yard field goal . The Falcons closed the first quarter with Bryant nailing a 30 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Saints quarterback Drew Brees connected with running back Reggie Bush for a 6 - yard touchdown pass . The Saints extended their lead as Brees connected with Marques Colston for a 3 - yard touchdown pass ( with a failed PAT ) . The Falcons would close out the first half as Bryant nailed a 27 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , Reggie Bush took a 21 - yard touchdown pass from Brees to extend the Saints ' lead even more . The Falcons got their first touchdown of the game as Redman connected with Michael Jenkins for a 50 - yard touchdown pass . In the fourth quarter , Jason Snelling got 4 - yard touchdown run to tie the game , giving Atlanta some hope . Hartley gave the Saints the lead as he made a 38 - yard field goal . After Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma intercepted Redman ' s pass , the Saints attempted yet another field goal , which was a fake that resulted in an incomplete pass . The Falcons faced fourth and 2 at the 49 - yard line with less than 2 minutes , where Redman completed a pass to Snelling , but Vilma stopped him at the line of scrimmage . With the loss , the Falcons fell to 6 - 7 . Week 15 : at New York Jets . Trying to snap a two - game losing streak , the Falcons flew to Giants Stadium once again , this time for a Week 15 inter - conference battle with the New York Jets . Thankfully for the Falcons , Matt Ryan returned from his toe injury . In the first quarter , Atlanta drew first score with Matt Bryant kicking a 24 - yard field goal . The Jets took the lead with Mark Sanchez launching a 67 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Braylon Edwards . The second quarter remained scoreless as the Jets attempted a 19 - yard field goal , but Kellen Clemens fumbled the ball , causing him to get tackled by Brent Grimes . After yet another scoreless quarter ( third ) , the Jets attempted a 37 - yard field goal , but it was blocked by Chauncey Davis . The Falcons , with one last chance , made a late fourth and goal play , where Ryan hooked up with Tony Gonzalez for a 6 - yard touchdown pass . New York got the ball back , but Brent Grimes ' interception sealed the win for Atlanta . With the win , the Falcons improved to 7 – 7 . However , they were eliminated from playoff contention due to the Cowboys ' 24 – 17 win against the Saints the previous day . Week 16 : vs . Buffalo Bills . After a close call against the Jets , the Falcons went home for a Week 16 inter - conference battle with the Buffalo Bills . In the first quarter , the Falcons got straight to work as Matt Ryan completed a 42 - yard touchdown pass to Roddy White . In the second quarter , Matt Bryant ' s 51 - yard field goal extended the lead for Atlanta . As the first half was closing , Buffalo blocked Atlanta ' s field goal and things got crazy as a couple of Bills possessed the ball , but they could not manage to get it in to the end zone . In the third quarter , Atlanta extended their lead even more as Marty Booker caught a 12 - yard touchdown pass from Ryan . Things got better for the Falcons as Buffalo running back Fred Jackson fumbled the ball , which led Lawrence Sidbury to return it for an 11 - yard defensive touchdown as he dragged a few Buffalo players . The Bills finally got on the board as kicker Rian Lindell nailed a 42 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , Ryan connected with White once again for a 5 - yard touchdown pass , as it was too late for the Bills to catch up . With the win , the Falcons improved to 8 - 7 . Week 17 : at Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Coming off their home win against the Bills , the Falcons flew to Raymond James Stadium for a Week 17 NFC South rematch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . In the opening kickoff , Falcon Eric Weems fumbled the football , causing the Bucs to recover , which set up Connor Barth for a 48 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , the Falcons responded by taking the lead with Matt Bryant ' s 36 - yard field goal , followed by Matt Ryan ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to Justin Peele . After a scoreless third quarter , Tampa Bay tied the game with Josh Freeman ' s 8 - yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant . Atlanta answered back as Ryan threw a 12 - yard touchdown pass to Roddy White . After another possession , the Falcons sealed the deal with Bryant ' s second 36 - yard field goal . With the win , not only did the Falcons improve to 9 - 7 , but they also posted back - to - back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history under head coach Mike Smith .