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2017 Atlanta Falcons season

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The 2017 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 52nd in the National Football League (NFL), their first playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and their third under head coach 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 after losing the previous year against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI after blowing a 28-3 lead. This was the Falcons' first year in Mercedes-Benz Stadium after spending the previous 25 seasons in the Georgia Dome, 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, as contractors continued to fully mechanize the roof.[1]

2017 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerArthur Blank
General managerThomas Dimitroff
Head coachDan Quinn
Home fieldMercedes-Benz Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place3rd NFC South
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Rams) 26–13
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Eagles) 10–15
Pro BowlersWR Julio Jones
C Alex Mack
LB Deion Jones
S Keanu Neal
Uniform

On December 13, 2017, Tommy Nobis, the first player drafted by the Falcons, died at the age of 74.[2]

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 in the NFC Wild Card Round, but lost against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round despite being the first team to be favored over a number one seed in the Divisional Round.

As of 2023, this represents the most recent winning season and playoff appearance for the Falcons.

Offseason

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Signings

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Position Player Age 2016 Team Contract
WR Reginald Davis III 25 Atlanta Falcons 3 years, $1.66 million
DE Jack Crawford 28 Dallas Cowboys 3 years, $8.8 million
DT Dontari Poe 26 Kansas City Chiefs 1 year, $8 million
S Kemal Ishmael 25 Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $2 million
WR Andre Roberts 29 Detroit Lions 1 year, $1.8 million
LB LaRoy Reynolds 26 Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $1.3 million
CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson 27 Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $775,000
OG Hugh Thornton 25 Indianapolis Colts 1 year, $690,000

Draft

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Main article: 2017 NFL draft
2017 Atlanta Falcons Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 26 Takkarist McKinley DE UCLA
3 75 Duke Riley LB LSU
4 136 Sean Harlow G Oregon State
5 149 Damontae Kazee S San Diego State
5 156 Brian Hill RB Wyoming
5 174 Eric Saubert TE Drake

Undrafted free agents

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2017 Atlanta Falcons Undrafted Free Agents
Position Player College Notes
QB Alek Torgersen Pennsylvania
FB Tyler Renew The Citadel
WR Josh Magee South Alabama
WR Deonte Burton Kansas State
C Cam Keizur Portland State
T Andreas Knappe UConn
T Robert Leff Auburn
OL Travis Averill Boise State
OL Will Freeman Southern Miss
DE J.T. Jones Miami (OH)
DE Chris Odom Arkansas State
DE Darius English South Carolina
DE Gary Thompson Jr. Marshall
LB Christian Tago San Jose State
LB Jermaine Grace Miami
CB Marcelis Branch Robert Morris
S Deron Washington Pittsburg State
S Quincy Mauger Georgia
CB Taylor Reynolds James Madison

Staff

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2017 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Dan Quinn
  • Assistant head coach/passing game coordinator/wide receivers – Raheem Morris
  • Assistant to the head coach – Steve Scarnecchia

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Keith Armstrong
  • Assistant special teams – Eric Sutulovich

Strength and conditioning

  • Athletic performance manager – A.J. Neibel
  • Head strength and conditioning – Jesse Ackerman
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Jonas Beauchemin


Final roster

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2017 Atlanta Falcons roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad 
Int'l

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 7 reserve, 10 practice squad

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 10 at Miami Dolphins L 20–23 0–1 Hard Rock Stadium Recap
2 August 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–17 0–2 Heinz Field Recap
3 August 26 Arizona Cardinals L 14–24 0–3 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap
4 August 31 Jacksonville Jaguars L 7–13 0–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 10 at Chicago Bears W 23–17 1–0 Soldier Field 61,857 Recap
2 September 17 Green Bay Packers W 34–23 2–0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 70,826 Recap
3 September 24 at Detroit Lions W 30–26 3–0 Ford Field 63,240 Recap
4 October 1 Buffalo Bills L 17–23 3–1 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 71,273 Recap
5 Bye
6 October 15 Miami Dolphins L 17–20 3–2 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 70,593 Recap
7 October 22 at New England Patriots L 7–23 3–3 Gillette Stadium 65,878 Recap
8 October 29 at New York Jets W 25–20 4–3 MetLife Stadium 77,562 Recap
9 November 5 at Carolina Panthers L 17–20 4–4 Bank of America Stadium 74,244 Recap
10 November 12 Dallas Cowboys W 27–7 5–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 73,761 Recap
11 November 20 at Seattle Seahawks W 34–31 6–4 CenturyLink Field 69,026 Recap
12 November 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 34–20 7–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 71,036 Recap
13 December 3 Minnesota Vikings L 9–14 7–5 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 71,185 Recap
14 December 7 New Orleans Saints W 20–17 8–5 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 72,866 Recap
15 December 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–21 9–5 Raymond James Stadium 62,382 Recap
16 December 24 at New Orleans Saints L 13–23 9–6 Mercedes-Benz Superdome 73,188 Recap
17 December 31 Carolina Panthers W 22–10 10–6 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 74,141 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: at Chicago Bears

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Week 1: Atlanta Falcons at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 7 31023
Bears 0 10 0717

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers

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Week 2: Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 7 0 31323
Falcons 7 17 10034

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

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, the team's final season at their original home of Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, that the Falcons played a home game in Atlanta under open air.[3] 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

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Week 3: Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 13 3730
Lions 0 13 10326

at Ford Field, Detroit Michigan

Game information

Week 4: vs. Buffalo Bills

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Week 4: Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 7 7923
Falcons 0 10 0717

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 6: vs. Miami Dolphins

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Week 6: Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 14620
Falcons 10 7 0017

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: October 15
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 70,593
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Trent Green and Jamie Erdahl
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 7: at New England Patriots

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Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 077
Patriots 0 17 3323

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Date: October 22
  • Game time: 8:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), cloudy, fog started developing in 2nd quarter
  • Game attendance: 65,878
  • Referee: Gene Steratore
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

In a rematch of Super Bowl LI eight months later, the Falcons were trying to avenge their historic defeat, where they blew a 28-3 lead and lost in overtime, however Atlanta lost the rematch 23-7, in a game dominated by fog in the Foxboro area in the second half.

Week 8: at New York Jets

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Week 8: Atlanta Falcons at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 6 3925
Jets 7 10 0320

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Week 9: at Carolina Panthers

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Week 9: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 10 0 0717
Panthers 0 14 6020

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

Game information

Week 10: vs. Dallas Cowboys

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Week 10: Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 0 007
Falcons 3 7 71027

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: November 12
  • Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 73,761
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

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

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Week 11: Atlanta Falcons at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 14 10 7334
Seahawks 7 10 6831

at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

Game information

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Week 12: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 3 3 7720
Falcons 3 17 7734

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 13: vs. Minnesota Vikings

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Week 13: Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 7 0714
Falcons 3 3 309

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

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Week 14: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Saints 3 7 7017
Falcons 3 7 01020

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Week 15: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Week 15: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 7 10 0724
Buccaneers 7 0 7721

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: December 18
  • Game time: 8:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 62,382
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden and Lisa Salters
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

The win eliminated Green Bay from postseason contention.

Week 16: at New Orleans Saints

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Week 16: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 31013
Saints 3 10 7323

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: December 24
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (dome stadium)
  • Game attendance: 73,188
  • Referee: Pete Morelli
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Week 17: vs. Carolina Panthers

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Week 17: Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Panthers 0 7 0310
Falcons 7 0 6922

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

  • Date: December 31
  • Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 74,141
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Standings

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Division

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NFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(4) New Orleans Saints 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 448 326 L1
(5) Carolina Panthers 11 5 0 .688 3–3 7–5 363 327 L1
(6) Atlanta Falcons 10 6 0 .625 4–2 9–3 353 315 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 335 382 W1

Conference

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NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division leaders
1[a] Philadelphia Eagles East 13 3 0 .813 5–1 10–2 .461 .433 L1
2[a] Minnesota Vikings North 13 3 0 .813 5–1 10–2 .492 .447 W3
3[b] Los Angeles Rams West 11 5 0 .688 4–2 7–5 .504 .460 L1
4[b][c] New Orleans Saints South 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 .535 .483 L1
Wild Cards
5[c] Carolina Panthers South 11 5 0 .688 3–3 7–5 .539 .500 L1
6 Atlanta Falcons South 10 6 0 .625 4–2 9–3 .543 .475 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[d] Detroit Lions North 9 7 0 .563 5–1 8–4 .496 .368 W1
8[d] Seattle Seahawks West 9 7 0 .563 4–2 7–5 .492 .444 L1
9[d] Dallas Cowboys East 9 7 0 .563 5–1 7–5 .496 .438 W1
10 Arizona Cardinals West 8 8 0 .500 3–3 5–7 .488 .406 W2
11[e] Green Bay Packers North 7 9 0 .438 2–4 5–7 .539 .357 L3
12[e] Washington Redskins East 7 9 0 .438 1–5 5–7 .539 .429 L1
13 San Francisco 49ers West 6 10 0 .375 1–5 3–9 .512 .438 W5
14[f] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 .555 .375 W1
15[f] Chicago Bears North 5 11 0 .313 0–6 1–11 .559 .500 L1
16 New York Giants East 3 13 0 .188 1–5 1–11 .531 .458 W1
Tiebreakers[g]
  1. ^ a b Philadelphia claimed the No. 1 seed over Minnesota based on winning percentage vs. common opponents. Philadelphia's cumulative record against Carolina, Chicago, the Los Angeles Rams and Washington was 5–0, compared to Minnesota's 4–1 cumulative record against the same four teams.
  2. ^ a b LA Rams claimed the No. 3 seed over New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
  3. ^ a b New Orleans clinched the NFC South division over Carolina based on head-to-head sweep.
  4. ^ a b c Detroit finished ahead of Dallas and Seattle based on conference record, while Seattle finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory.
  5. ^ a b Green Bay finished ahead of Washington based on record vs. common opponents. Green Bay's cumulative record against Dallas, Minnesota, New Orleans and Seattle was 2–3, compared to Washington's 1–4 cumulative record against the same four teams.
  6. ^ a b Tampa Bay finished ahead of Chicago based on head-to-head victory.
  7. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

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See also: 2017–18 NFL playoffs

Schedule

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Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card January 6, 2018 at Los Angeles Rams (3) W 26–13 1–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
Divisional January 13, 2018 at Philadelphia Eagles (1) L 10–15 1–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap

Game summaries

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

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NFC Wild Card Playoffs: (6) Atlanta Falcons at (3) Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 6 7 6726
Rams 0 10 0313

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information

NFC Divisional Playoffs: at (1) Philadelphia Eagles

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NFC Divisional Playoffs: (6) Atlanta Falcons at (1) Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 3 7 0010
Eagles 0 9 3315

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: January 13, 2018
  • Game time: 4:35 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 69,596
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

References

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  1. ^ Tucker, Tim (October 6, 2017). "Plan: Stadium roof will be closed for rest of Falcons season, open for one soccer game". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Tommy Nobis, 'Mr. Falcon,' is dead at 74". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  3. ^ Tucker, Tim. "Falcons plan to open roof for home opener if weather cooperates". AJC. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
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