| Team: | Atlanta Falcons |
| Year: | 1966 |
| Record: | 3–11 |
| Conference Place: | 7th NFL Eastern |
| Coach: | Norb Hecker |
| Owner: | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| Stadium: | Atlanta Stadium |
| Radio: | WSB |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | LB Tommy Nobis |
| Previous: | none |
| No Prevseason: | true |
| Shortnavlink: | Falcons seasons |
The 1966 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons finished in seventh place in the NFL Eastern Conference with a record of 3–11, ahead of only the New York Giants.
The Falcons attempted to acquire Green Bay Packers running back Jim Taylor. There were tensions in Green Bay because the Packers first round pick, Jim Grabowski would be groomed to take over for Taylor.[1] The signing of Grabowski upset Taylor but he stated he would leave Green Bay once his contract expired, therefore the Falcons could not acquire the running back.
See main article: 1966 NFL draft. Due to the addition of the team for the 1966 NFL season, the Falcons were allotted the first pick in all twenty rounds of the 1966 NFL draft, as well as five compensatory picks and the end of the first five rounds.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linebacker | ||||
| 1 | 16 | Quarterback | Texas A&I | ||
| 2 | 17 | Defensive Back | Notre Dame | ||
| 2 | 32 | Jerry Jones | Tackle | Bowling Green | |
| 3 | 33 | Running Back | Mississippi | ||
| 3 | 48 | Phil Sheridan | Wide Receiver | Notre Dame | |
| 4 | 49 | Defensive Back | Virginia State | ||
| 4 | 64 | Running Back | Kent State | ||
| 5 | 65 | Bill Wolski | Running Back | Notre Dame | |
| 5 | 80 | Martin Kahn | Tackle | North Texas State | |
| 6 | 81 | Charley Casey | Wide Receiver | Florida | |
| 7 | 96 | William Johnson | Running Back | University of the South | |
| 8 | 111 | Bill Goss | Linebacker | Tulane | |
| 9 | 126 | Bob Sanders | Center | North Texas State | |
| 10 | 141 | Mike Bender | Guard | Arkansas | |
| 11 | 156 | Quarterback | Alabama | ||
| 12 | 171 | Ken Hollister | Tackle | Indiana | |
| 13 | 186 | Bob Collins | Tackle | South Carolina | |
| 14 | 201 | Steve Ecker | Kicker | Shippensburg | |
| 15 | 216 | Tom Tolleson | Wide Receiver | Alabama | |
| 16 | 231 | Jim Vining | Guard | Rice | |
| 17 | 246 | Lurley Archambeau | Center | Toledo | |
| 18 | 261 | Doug Korver | Center | Southern Iowa | |
| 19 | 276 | Walt Mainer | Defensive Back | Xavier | |
| 20 | 291 | Defensive Back | Penn State |
The expansion Falcons were allowed to field a roster of 46 players while the rest of the league was limited to 40 during 1966.[2]
The Falcons played their first game (preseason) on August 1, 1966, against the Philadelphia Eagles before a crowd of 26,072 at Atlanta Stadium, a two-point Falcons loss, 9–7.[3] [4] In their inaugural regular season, Atlanta played each of the fourteen other teams in the league once. The Falcons lost their first nine regular season games; their first win was on the road against the New York Giants, 27–16, on November 20.[5] [6] Former Giant Ernie Wheelwright scored two touchdowns receiving and ran for 51 more yards as QB Randy Johnson hit for a trio of touchdowns.
Their first ever home victory was over the St. Louis Cardinals, 16–10, before 57,169 on December 11.[7] The Falcons ended their inaugural season at 3–11, yet Tommy Nobis won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award and became the first Falcon named to the Pro Bowl.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11 | Los Angeles Rams | L 14–19 | 0–1 | Atlanta Stadium | 54,418 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 18 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–23 | 0–2 | Franklin Field | 54,049 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 25 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–28 | 0–3 | Tiger Stadium | 47,615 | Recap | |
| 4 | October 2 | Dallas Cowboys | L 14–47 | 0–4 | Atlanta Stadium | 56,990 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 9 | at Washington Redskins | L 20–33 | 0–5 | D.C. Stadium | 50,116 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 16 | San Francisco 49ers | L 7–44 | 0–6 | Atlanta Stadium | 54,788 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 23 | at Green Bay Packers | L 3–56 | 0–7 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 48,623 | Recap | |
| 8 | October 30 | Cleveland Browns | L 17–49 | 0–8 | Atlanta Stadium | 57,235 | Recap | |
| 9 | Bye | |||||||
| 10 | November 13 | Baltimore Colts | L 7–19 | 0–9 | Atlanta Stadium | 58,850 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 20 | at New York Giants | W 27–16 | 1–9 | Yankee Stadium | 62,746 | Recap | |
| 12 | November 27 | at Chicago Bears | L 6–23 | 1–10 | Wrigley Field | 44,777 | Recap | |
| 13 | December 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 20–13 | 2–10 | Metropolitan Stadium | 37,117 | Recap | |
| 14 | December 11 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 16–10 | 3–10 | Atlanta Stadium | 57,169 | Recap | |
| 15 | December 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 33–57 | 3–11 | Atlanta Stadium | 56,229 | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||