The 2017 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 52nd

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

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 majo ...

and their third under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

Dan Quinn. They entered the season as the defending NFC champions and tried to defend their NFC title for a second consecutive trip to the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...

after losing the previous year against the Patriots in

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

after blowing a 28-3 lead. This was the Falcons' first year in

Mercedes-Benz Stadium Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in August 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it serves as the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League ( ...

after spending the previous 25 seasons in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...

, which was demolished on November 20, 2017. Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened as scheduled on August 26, 2017; however, its retractable roof system was incomplete. The roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium remained in the closed position for most of the 2017 season, with the roof opened only during the September 17 game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

, as contractors continued to fully mechanize the roof. On December 13, 2017,

Tommy Nobis Thomas Henry Nobis Jr. (September 20, 1943 – December 13, 2017) was an American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at the University of Tex ...

, the first player drafted by the Falcons, died at the age of 74. Despite the Falcons failing to improve on their 11–5 record from 2016 or defend their NFC South title, the team posted its first consecutive winning seasons, consecutive 10-win seasons, and consecutive playoff berths since the 2012 season. The Falcons were the only NFC team from the 2016 playoffs to qualify for the 2017 playoffs. In the playoffs, the Falcons defeated the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

in the Wild Card Round, but lost against the eventual Super Bowl champion

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the NFC Divisional round. As of

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, this represents the most recent winning season and playoff appearance for the Falcons.

Offseason

Signings

Draft

Undrafted free agents

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Chicago Bears

Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers

In their home opener, the Falcons hosted the Green Bay Packers in a rematch of the 2016 NFC Championship Game. This was the first regular season game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Despite prior reports that the roof would be closed for the game, Falcons owner Arthur Blank elected to open the roof if weather permitted, marking the first time since the

1991 season File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated ...

, the team's final season at their original home of

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of th ...

, that the Falcons played a home game in Atlanta under open air. The Falcons controlled most of the game, went up by as much as 24, and won 34–23. They were led by Devonta Freeman (19 rushes, 84 yards, 2 TD) and Julio Jones (108 yards, 5 receptions). The 2017 Falcons became only the fourth team in NFL history to start 2–0 after they lost the Super Bowl the previous year.

Week 3: at Detroit Lions

Week 4: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 6: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 7: at New England Patriots

In a rematch of

the Falcons were trying to revenge their loss in Super Bowl LI, where they blew a 28-3 lead and lost in overtime instead the Falcons loss the Super Bowl rematch 23-7.

Week 8: at New York Jets

Week 9: at Carolina Panthers

Week 10: vs. Dallas Cowboys

In the Falcons' victory, Adrian Clayborn set a new franchise record of six sacks in one game, breaking the previous record of five sacks.

Week 11: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 13: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 15: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The win eliminated Green Bay from postseason contention.

Week 16: at New Orleans Saints

Week 17: vs. Carolina Panthers

Standings

Division

Conference

Postseason

NFC Wild Card Playoffs: at (3) Los Angeles Rams

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) Philadelphia Eagles

References

External links

* {{2017 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 498,7 ...

Atlanta Falcons seasons

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...