The Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 46th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and the fourth under head coach Mike Smith. Finishing the regular season 10–6, the Falcons clinched the #5 seed in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Atlanta's season ended quickly as they lost 24–2 to the eventual

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

champion

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the opening round. This is also the first time the franchise clinched consecutive playoff berths, and the first time it won ten or more games in consecutive seasons.

Offseason

Signings

Departures

2011 NFL Draft

: The Falcons acquired this seventh-round selection and a

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

sixth-round selection in a trade that sent CB

Chris Houston Chris Houston may refer to: *Chris Houston (American football) (born 1984), American football cornerback * Chris Houston (musician), Canadian musician *Chris Houston (rugby league) Chris Houston (born 15 February 1985) is an Australian former p ...

to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. : The Falcons acquired this seventh-round selection in a trade that sent T

Quinn Ojinnaka Quinn Ojinnaka (born April 23, 1984) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Moose, and is a former one-time Impact World Champ ...

to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Preseason

Schedule

The Falcons' preseason schedule was announced on April 12, 2011.

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: at Chicago Bears

The Falcons started their season out on the road against the Bears. With the loss, the team fell to 0–1.

Week 2: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

For the regular season opener at home, the Falcons faced the Eagles. The win improved the team to 1–1 and also helped Starting QB Matt Ryan improve to 4–0 as a regular season starter during home openers.

Week 3: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With the loss, the Falcons fell to 1–2.

Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks

With the win, the Falcons improved to 2–2.

Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Falcons went home for a week 5 duel with the undefeated Packers. This would be a rematch of last year's NFC Divisional Round. With the loss, the Falcons fell to 2–3.

Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers

With their 3rd-straight win over the Panthers, the Falcons improved to 3–3.

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

With the win, the Falcons went into their bye week at 4–3.

Week 9: at Indianapolis Colts

With the win, the Falcons improved to 5–3 and went 2–13 overall against the Colts.

Week 10: vs. New Orleans Saints

With the loss, the Falcons fell to 5–4.

Week 11: vs. Tennessee Titans

With the win, the Falcons improved to 6–4.

Week 12: vs. Minnesota Vikings

With the win, the Falcons improved to 7–4.

Week 13: at Houston Texans

With the loss, the Falcons fell to 7–5.

Week 14: at Carolina Panthers

With the win, the Falcons improved to 8–5.

Week 15: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

With the win, the Falcons improved to 9–5.

Week 16: at New Orleans Saints

With the loss, the Falcons fell to 9–6, but were able to clinch a playoff spot due to the Chicago Bears 35–21 loss to the Green Bay Packers Sunday night.

Week 17: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With the win, the Falcons finished the season at 10–6 and captured the NFC's #5 seed.

Standings

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

NFC Wild Card Playoff Game: at #4 New York Giants

The Falcons lost their Wild Card round playoff game to the

on January 8, 2012, by a score of 24–2. It is the first time in NFL playoff history that a team has scored exactly two points. The previous NFL team to score only a safety in a game was the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15 against the New England Patriots.

Staff

Final roster

References

{{2011 NFL season by team

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Atlanta Falcons seasons 2011 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)