2014 Atlanta Falcons season explained

Team:Atlanta Falcons
Year:2014
Record:6–10
Division Place:3rd NFC South
Coach:Mike Smith
Owner:Arthur Blank
General Manager:Thomas Dimitroff
Stadium:Georgia Dome
Playoffs:Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers:WR/RS Devin Hester
WR Julio Jones
QB Matt Ryan
Shortnavlink:Falcons seasons

The Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the seventh and final under head coach Mike Smith. The Falcons were defeated by the Carolina Panthers in week 17, officially eliminating them from postseason contention for the second straight year.[1] As a result, Smith was fired after his seventh year as head coach, after two straight years with a losing record.[2]

The 2014 Atlanta Falcons were featured on the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks.[3]

As of 2022, the only member of the 2014 squad still a Falcon is Jake Matthews.

2014 draft class

See main article: 2014 NFL draft.

2014 Atlanta Falcons Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
6Texas A&M
2 37Minnesota
3 68Wisconsin
4 103Florida State
Notre Dame
5 147Purdue
168Syracuse
6None — see below
7 Connecticut
South Dakota
Compensatory selection

Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1August 8Miami DolphinsW 16–101–0Georgia DomeRecap
2August 16at Houston TexansL 7–321–1NRG StadiumRecap
3August 23Tennessee TitansL 17–241–2Georgia DomeRecap
4August 28at Jacksonville JaguarsW 24–142–2EverBank FieldRecap

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.com
recap
1September 7New Orleans SaintsW 37–34 1–0Georgia DomeRecap
2September 14at Cincinnati BengalsL 10–241–1Paul Brown StadiumRecap
3Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 56–142–1Georgia DomeRecap
4September 28at Minnesota VikingsL 28–412–2TCF Bank StadiumRecap
5October 5at New York GiantsL 20–302–3MetLife StadiumRecap
6October 12Chicago BearsL 13–272–4Georgia DomeRecap
7October 19at Baltimore RavensL 7–292–5M&T Bank StadiumRecap
8October 26Detroit LionsL 21–222–6Recap
9Bye
10November 9at Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 27–173–6Raymond James StadiumRecap
11November 16at Carolina PanthersW 19–174–6Bank of America StadiumRecap
12November 23Cleveland BrownsL 24–264–7Georgia DomeRecap
13November 30Arizona CardinalsW 29–185–7Georgia DomeRecap
14at Green Bay PackersL 37–435–8Lambeau FieldRecap
15December 14Pittsburgh SteelersL 20–275–9Georgia DomeRecap
16December 21at New Orleans SaintsW 30–146–9Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeRecap
17December 28Carolina PanthersL 3–346–10Georgia DomeRecap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In this game, Devin Hester would break Deion Sanders's all-time record for punt/kick returns for touchdowns, with 20.[4]

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

NFL International Series

Week 13: vs. Arizona Cardinals

This was the Falcons' only win outside the NFC South division.

Week 15: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Falcons were the only NFC South team to lose to all of their AFC North opponents.

Week 16: at New Orleans Saints

With the win, the Falcons swept the Saints for the 1st time since 2005 and eliminated them from postseason contention.

Week 17: vs. Carolina Panthers

Standings

Conference

Use of artificial crowd noise

Shortly after the end of the post-season the Falcons were investigated by the League for piping artificial crowd noise during opponent's offensive snaps at home games during the 2013 season and the 2014 season.[5] Team owner Arthur Blank stated that he was "angry and embarrassed" about the allegations, and has allegedly acknowledged the validity of the accusations, stating "I think what we've done in 2013 and 2014 was wrong", and promising to cooperate fully with the investigation.[6] The NFL fined the Falcons $350,000 and took away a fifth round draft pick in the 2016 draft as punishment.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Carolina Panthers obliterate Atlanta Falcons 34-3, win NFC South CharlotteObserver.com . 2014-12-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141229052722/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/28/5411641/carolina-panthers-obliterate-atlanta.html . 2014-12-29 . dead .
  2. Web site: Falcons fire Mike Smith. 29 December 2014.
  3. Web site: Falcons to be 2014 HBO Hard Knocks Team . 2015-03-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131133/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/article-1/Falcons-to-be-2014-HBO-Hard-Knocks-Team/7ab3a3c2-6813-4e47-a5de-5a9932712a06 . 2015-04-02 . dead .
  4. Web site: Devin Hester's record-breaking return TD is best of Week 3. NFL.com.
  5. News: Atlanta Falcons under NFL investigation for fake crowd noise at Georgia Dome: report . New York Daily News. 1 February 2015.
  6. News: Falcons' Arthur Blank on crowd noise: 'What we've done ... is wrong'. Jay Busbee. Yahoo! Sports. 3 February 2015.
  7. Web site: Atlanta Falcons lose 2016 draft pick, fined $350,000 by NFL for Noisegate. Alabama Living. 30 March 2015.