1991 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerRankin Smith
Head coachJerry Glanville
Home fieldFulton County Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishWon wild card playoffs
(at Saints) 27–20
Lost divisional playoffs
(at Redskins) 7–24
Pro Bowlers
4
AP All-Pros
3
The Falcons playing against the LA Rams at Anaheim Stadium in 1991

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 for the first time in nine years. Additionally, the Falcons won their first playoff game since 1978, by defeating the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins 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.[1] Head coach Jerry Glanville disapproved of the selection and said it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game.[2] 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.[3] 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 Notes
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

[4]

Personnel

Staff

1991 Atlanta Falcons staff
Front office
  • Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr.
  • President – Taylor Smith
  • Vice-president of player personnel – Ken Herock
  • Director of pro scouting – Chuck Connor

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Bobby April

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

Roster

1991 Atlanta Falcons roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • 84 Karl Miller WR
  • 96 LeRoy Truitt G/T

47 active, 8 inactive, 2 practice squad


Rookies in italics

[5]

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

[6]

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
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
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 234Total
Falcons 3 000 3
• Chiefs 0 077 14
  • Date: September 1
  • Location: Arrowhead Stadium
  • Game start: 12:00 CST
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • Television network: CBS

[7]

Week 2

1 234Total
• Vikings 7 076 20
Falcons 3 709 19

[8]

Week 3

1 234Total
• Falcons 7 330 13
Chargers 0 703 10

[9]

Week 4

1 234Total
Raiders 0 773 17
• Falcons 7 077 21
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

[10]

Week 5

1 234Total
• Saints 3 7107 27
Falcons 0 600 6
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Hank Stram

[11]

Week 7

1 234Total
• Falcons 14 6136 39
49ers 0 14137 34
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Candlestick Park
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Randy Cross

[12]

Week 8

1 234Total
Falcons 7 300 10
• Cardinals 3 0103 16
  • Date: October 20
  • Location: Sun Devil Stadium
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Irv Cross

[13]

Week 9

1 234Total
Rams 0 0014 14
• Falcons 7 14100 31
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 71 °F or 21.7 °C; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Referee: Gerald Austin
  • Television network: CBS
Scoring summary
Q18:08ATLDixon 19 yard pass from Miller (N. Johnson kick)ATL 7–0
Q27:28ATLChaffey 5 yard run (N. Johnson kick)ATL 14–0
Q20:22ATLRison 20 yard pass from Miller (N. Johnson kick)ATL 21–0
Q311:50ATLHaynes 55 yard pass from Miller (N. Johnson kick)ATL 28–0
Q30:53ATLN. Johnson 44 yard field goalATL 31–0
Q413:32LADelpino 9 yard run (Zendejas kick)ATL 31–7
Q41:54LACarter 18 yard pass from Pagel (Zendejas kick)ATL 31–14

[14] [15]

Week 10

1 234Total
49ers 0 707 14
• Falcons 0 0017 17
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 EST
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Hank Stram

[16]

Week 11

1 234Total
Falcons 3 0140 17
• Redskins 7 21721 56
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: RFK Stadium
  • Referee: Dale Hamer
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Randy Cross

[17]

Week 12

1 234Total
Buccaneers 0 007 7
• Falcons 0 3337 43
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • Television network: CBS

[18]

Week 13

1 234OTTotal
• Falcons 0 37103 23
Saints 0 7670 20
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Louisiana Superdome
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann

[19]

Week 14

1 234Total
Packers 7 14010 31
• Falcons 7 0721 35
  • Date: December 1
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (CBS): James Brown and Randy Cross

[20]

Week 15

1 234Total
• Falcons 10 1470 31
Rams 0 707 14
  • Date: December 8
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler and Merlin Olsen

[21]

Week 16

1 234Total
Seahawks 0 0310 13
• Falcons 2 1077 26
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (NBC): Joel Meyers and Dan Hampton

[22]

Week 17

1 234Total
Falcons 14 3100 27
• Cowboys 21 307 31
  • Date: December 22
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Referee: Johnny Grier
  • TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Merlin Olsen

[23]

Playoffs

Wild card

1 234Total
• Falcons 0 10710 27
Saints 7 607 20

Falcons quarterback Chris Miller completed the game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Haynes with 2:41 left in the contest. Miller completed 18 out of 30 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Divisional

1 234Total
Falcons 0 700 7
• Redskins 0 1437 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.

References

  1. ↑ "NFL Draft History – 1991". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
  2. ↑ D'Amato, Gary (October 24, 2005). "Trading places". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Brett Favre Career Stats".
  4. ↑ "1991 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. ↑ "1991 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ "1991 Atlanta Falcons (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  7. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  8. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  9. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  10. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  11. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  12. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  13. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  14. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  15. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  16. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  17. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  18. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  19. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  20. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  21. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  22. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
  23. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Feb-11.
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