Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta , Georgia . They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference ( NFC ) in the National Football League ( NFL ) . The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team , after the NFL offered then - owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League ( AFL ) . The AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami , Florida ( the Miami Dolphins ) . In their 45 years of existence , the Falcons have compiled a record of 298 – 402 – 6 with division championships in 1980 , 1998 , 2004 , and 2010 . Their first and only Super Bowl appearance was Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999 . Franchise history . Once a stadium , Atlanta - Fulton County Stadium , was built , Atlantans felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football . One independent group which had been active in NFL exhibition promotions in Atlanta applied for franchises in both the American Football League and the NFL , acting entirely on its own with no guarantee of stadium rights . Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL . With everyone running in different directions , some local businessmen worked out a deal and were awarded an AFL franchise on June 7 , 1965 , contingent upon acquiring exclusive stadium rights from city officials . NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle , who had been moving slowly in Atlanta matters , was spurred by the AFL interest and headed on the next plane down to Atlanta to block the rival league ' s claim on the city of Atlanta . He forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues . On June 30 Rankin Smith and the NFL were the choice . The Atlanta Falcons franchise began on June 30 , 1965 when NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership to Rankin Smith Sr . The expansion team was awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL Draft as well as the final pick in each of the first five rounds . The Falcons drafted All - American Linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft , making him the first - ever Falcon . The league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises . The Falcons selected many good players in drafts , but they still could not win . The Falcons had their first season in 1966 , and their first preseason game on August 1 , 1966 , losing to the Philadelphia Eagles . They lost their first nine regular - season games and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants . The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins . The Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season . The 1971 season was their first with a winning record . In the 1978 season , the Falcons entered their first playoff series and won the Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles 14 – 13 . The following week , they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27 – 20 in the Divisional Playoffs . In 1980 , after a nine game winning streak , the Falcons posted a franchise then - best record of 12 – 4 and captured their first NFC West division title . The next week , their dream season ended at home with a loss to the Cowboys 30 – 27 in the divisional playoffs . In the strike - shortened 1982 season , the Falcons made the playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings , 30 – 24 . Falcons coach Leeman Bennett was fired after the loss . In 1989 , the Falcons drafted CB Deion Sanders in the first round , who helped them for the next four years , setting many records for the franchise . " Neon Deion " ( a . k . a . " Prime Time " ) had a flashy appeal and helped bring media attention to one of the league ' s most anonymous franchises . Sanders was also famous for playing on major league baseball teams ( the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves ) while simultaneously playing in the NFL . In 1991 , the Falcons drafted Brett Favre as the thirty - third overall pick . But the Falcons ' season ended in a loss to the Washington Redskins in the divisional playoffs . In 1992 , the Atlanta Falcons opened a new chapter in their history moving into the newly constructed Georgia Dome . Head coach Jerry Glanville had never wanted to draft Brett Favre and traded him to the Packers . In 1998 , under recently acquired head coach Dan Reeves , quarterback Chris Chandler and running back Jamal Anderson led the " Dirty Bird " Falcons to their greatest season to date . On November 8 , they won 41 – 10 over the New England Patriots , ending a streak of 22 losses at cold - weather sites . The team finished with a 14 – 2 regular season record and the NFC West division championship . On January 18 , 1999 , the Falcons upset the top - seeded 15 – 1 Vikings at Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game , 30 – 27 in an epic overtime victory . However , in their first - ever Super Bowl appearance , they were defeated 34 – 19 , by the defending champion Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII . In the 2001 NFL Draft , the Falcons orchestrated a trade with the San Diego Chargers , acquiring the first overall pick ( which was used on quarterback Michael Vick ) in exchange for wide receiver Tim Dwight and the fifth overall pick ( used on running back LaDainian Tomlinson ) . Co - founder of Home Depot Arthur Blank purchased the Falcons franchise on December 6 , 2001 . Michael Vick saw minimal playing time in 2001 , playing backup and learning the system under starting QB Chris Chandler . Vick was the named starting quarterback for the 2002 season . Setting many records and supplying the media with numerous highlights for the season , including rushing for 173 yards in an overtime win at Minnesota , the highest single - game rushing total for an NFL quarterback ever , Vick led the Falcons to the playoffs . During their ensuing playoff run , the Falcons were the first team in history to claim a playoff win over the Green Bay Packers 27 – 7 in Lambeau Field . Their season ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 20 – 6 in the divisional playoffs . On March 19 , 2003 , the Falcons presented their new logo . “ The new Atlanta Falcons logo is fresh , strong and dynamic , and yet appreciates the tradition and history of this franchise , ” said Falcons owner and CEO Arthur Blank . “ The new logo depicts a more powerful , aggressive Falcon – one of fast movement . It is also representative of the evolution and direction of our team . ” During the 2003 preseason Michael Vick broke his leg and missed the first twelve games of the season . After losing 7 straight games , the decision was made to release head coach Dan Reeves . Wade Phillips acted as interim coach for the final 3 games . Although the Falcons won 3 of their last 4 games after the return of Michael Vick , they ended up with a dismal 5 – 11 record that year . New head coach Jim L . Mora was hired and Michael Vick returned for the full season , when the Falcons went 11 – 5 , winning their third division title and earn a first - round bye into the playoffs . In the divisional playoffs , the Falcons defeated the St . Louis Rams 47 – 17 in the Georgia Dome , advancing to the NFC Championship , which they lost to the Eagles 27 – 10 . The Falcons fell short again of achieving back - to - back winning seasons in 2005 , going 8 – 8 . In 2006 , Michael Vick became the first quarterback in league history to rush for more than 1 , 000 yards in a season , with 1 , 039 . After finishing the season 7 – 9 , however , coach Jim Mora was dismissed and Bobby Petrino , the University of Louisville ' s football coach , replaced him . Before the 2007 , Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL after pleading guilty to charges involving dog fighting in the state of Virginia . On December 10 , 2007 , Vick received a 23 - month prison sentence and was officially cut from the Atlanta roster . In the beginning of the 2007 season , the Falcons were forced to start Joey Harrington at quarterback . On December 11 , 13 games into his first NFL season as head coach , Bobby Petrino resigned without notice to coach at the University of Arkansas , leaving the beleaguered players only a note in the locker room . Secondary Coach Emmitt Thomas was named interim coach for the final three games of 2007 on December 12 . On January 13 , 2008 , the Falcons named the former Patriots director of college football scouting Thomas Dimitroff General Manager . On January 23 , 2008 , Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coach and former linebackers coach for the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens Mike Smith was named the Falcons ' new head coach . On March 2 , Michael Turner agreed to a 6 - year deal worth $ 30 million . On April 26 , Matt Ryan ( quarterback from Boston College ) was drafted third overall in the 2008 NFL Draft . He started all 16 games in his rookie season and was named the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year . The Falcons finished the 2008 regular season with a record of 11 – 5 . On December 21 , 2008 , Atlanta Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings 24 – 17 to clinch a wild card spot , earning a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2004 . The Falcons would go on to lose in the wild - card round of the 2008 NFL playoffs to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals , 30 – 24 . The Atlanta Falcons hold the record among all major American sports leagues for the longest streak of seasons without consecutive winning seasons , a streak that lasted from 1966 – 2008 . Though they failed to make the playoffs , the streak ended in 2009 when the Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 – 10 in the final game of the season to improve their record to 9 – 7 . In 2010 , with a regular season record of 13 – 3 , their best regular season record since the 1998 Super Bowl season , the Falcons secured a third straight winning season , their fourth overall divisional title , and the top overall seed in the NFC playoffs ; however , the Falcons were overpowered by the eventual Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs 48 - 21 . 2011 . The Falcons made a surprise trade up with the Cleveland Browns in the 2011 NFL Draft to select Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones . In exchange , the Falcons gave up their second and fourth round draft picks in 2011 , and their first and fourth draft picks in 2012 . Logo and uniforms . When the team debuted in 1966 , the Falcons wore red helmets with a black falcon crest logo . In the center of the helmet was a center black stripe surrounded by 2 gold stripes and 2 white stripes , These colors represented the two college rival schools in the state of Georgia ; rival schools Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ( White and Gold ) and the Georgia Bulldogs ( Red and Black ) Although the gold was later taken out , the white remains to this day . They wore white pants and either black or white jerseys . At first , the falcon crest logo was also put on the jersey sleeves , but it was replaced by a red and white stripe pattern four years later . They switched from black to red jerseys in 1971 , and the club began to wear silver pants in 1978 . A prototype white helmet was developed for the team prior to the 1974 season but was never worn . In 1990 , the uniform design changed to black helmets , silver pants , and either black or white jerseys . The numbers on the white jerseys were black , but were changed to red in 1997 . ( The red numerals could be seen on the away jerseys briefly in 1990 . ) Both the logo and uniforms changed in 2003 . The logo was redesigned with red and silver accents to depict a more powerful , aggressive falcon , which now more closely resembles the capital letter " F " . Although the Falcons still wore black helmets , the new uniforms featured jerseys and pants with red trim down the sides . The uniform design consisted of either black or white jerseys , and either black or white pants . During that same year , a red alternate jersey with black trim was also introduced . The Falcons also started wearing black cleats with these uniforms . In 2004 , the red jerseys became the primary jerseys , and the black ones became the alternate , both worn with white pants . In select road games , the Falcons wear black pants with white jerseys . The Falcons wore an all - black combination for home games against their archrivals , the New Orleans Saints , winning the first two contests ( 24 – 21 in 2004 and 36 – 17 in 2005 ) , but losing 31 – 13 in 2006 . The Falcons wore the all black combination against the New Orleans Saints for 4 straight seasons starting in 2004 , With the last time being in 2007 , losing 34 – 14 . They wore the combination again in 2006 , against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2 . The Falcons won that game , 14 – 3 . The Falcons also wore their all - black uniform in 2007 against the New York Giants , and in 2008 against the Carolina Panthers and against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ( for the second time ) . In the 1980s , the Falcons wore their white uniforms at home most of the time because of the heat . When the Falcons started playing in a dome , the team switched to their dark uniforms for home games but have worn their white uniforms at home a few times since switching to the dome . It was announced at the 2009 state of the franchise meeting that the Falcons would wear 1966 throwback uniforms for a couple games during the 2009 season . The Atlanta Falcons wore 1966 throwback jerseys for 2 home games in 2009 – against the Carolina Panthers on September 20 and against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on November 29 . Both of those game the Falcons won . They donned the throwbacks again for 2 games in 2010 , against Baltimore and San Francisco , winning both of those games as well . Statistics . Record vs . opponents . Includes postseason records Deion is the only Hall of Famer that has been inducted based substantially on his service with the Falcons ; however , two inductees played briefly for the Falcons during their careers : Players of note . " Ring of Honor " . " Note : The Atlanta Falcons organization does not officially retire jersey numbers . " Coaches of note . Head coaches . In their history , the Atlanta Falcons have had 15 head coaches . Radio and television . As of 2011 , the Falcons ' radio flagship station is WSTR Star 94 FM , and WQXI 790 AM " The Zone " , previously held since 2006 by WZGC 92 . 9 " Dave FM . " Wes Durham , voice of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and son of longtime North Carolina Tar Heels voice Woody Durham , is the Falcons ' play - by - play announcer . Preseason games not shown nationally television ( except NBC - aired games ) are seen on NBC affiliate WXIA , also known as " 11 Alive . " In 2008 , preseason games aired on WATL - TV due to WXIA ' s commitment to the 2008 Summer Olympics . Both stations are owned by Gannett Company . Fox affiliate WAGA - TV aired most preseason games through the 2004 season . WAGA continues to have a relationship with the Falcons as their primary broadcaster of regular season games ( serving in this capacity since the Falcons started play ) , which dates back to when WAGA was a CBS affiliate and the NFL / NFC games were on CBS . WATL aired most Falcons games in 1994 , as WAGA did not switch to Fox until December 1994 . Fight Song . The Atlanta Falcons fight song is " Black and Red " by Jermaine Dupri Public interest initiatives . A delegation from the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders , on January 26 , 2009 traveled to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp s , in Cuba , to sign autographs , and enhance the troops ' morale . While there , the cheerleaders toured the detention camps ' hospital , and Camp IV , Camp V , & Camp VI there at ' Gitmo ' .