History of The Atlanta Falcons - 1980s

1980s

1980 was a highly successful season for the Falcons, as they finished 12–4. While the season started at 3–3, Atlanta went on to record an amazing 9-game winning streak. Bartkowski threw for three touchdowns on December 14 as the Falcons defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 35–10 to win their first-ever NFC West division title. In the Divisional Playoffs, the Falcons lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 30–27, as the Cowboys rallied for 20 points in Atlanta before a then-record crowd of 59,793, including a game-winning touchdown pass from Danny White to Drew Pearson with less than a minute to play. This loss is widely cited as one of most devastating losses in Atlanta sports history (even more so than the Super Bowl loss to Denver in 1998), as many fans and the team itself took almost a decade to recover.

The 1981 season was plagued with injuries as the Falcons lost 3 key starters for the season. The Falcons would lose six games by less than a touchdown and finish with a 7–9 record.

In the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Falcons finished 5-4 and returned to the (expanded) playoffs, but lost to Minnesota 30-24 in the first round.

In 1984, the Falcons suffered a huge loss when RB William Andrews suffered a career-threatening knee injury on the last day of training camp. He would be sidelined for 2 years before returning for the 1986 season, only to retire soon after. Gerald Riggs would replace him in the lineup, as Riggs was a bright spot in amassing over 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns in those two seasons. However, the Falcons would finish with back-to-back 4-12 records for the 1984 and 1985 campaigns. After an average 7-8-1 season in 1986, where David Archer succeeded Steve Bartkowski as starting QB, head coach Dan Henning was dumped and replaced by Marion Campbell.

In 1987, Campbell did nothing to reverse the Falcons losing and they would finish their season with a 3–12 record, including losing 9 out of their last 10 games upon their return from the strike of that season. The 1988 season would also be awful as the Falcons finished with a 5–11 season.

1988 would start with Atlanta drafting first overall, a pick they used to select Auburn linebacker Aundray Bruce, most notably bypassing perennial All-Pro DE Neil Smith, who went second overall to the Kansas City Chiefs. Settling in with 1987's first round selection Chris Miller as their new starting QB, Atlanta proceeded to lose seven out of their first 8 games. The Falcons were able to salvage their season somewhat with a stretch where they won 4 games out of 5, including a road win over the playoff-bound Eagles, but lost their last 3 games to finish 5–11 for the season.

In 1989, Atlanta's top draft pick (fifth overall) was a flamboyant All-American defensive back from Florida State named Deion Sanders who was as good at cultivating his "Prime Time" image as he was at intercepting passes and returning kicks. In drafting Sanders, it gave the Falcons something they had been sorely lacking since the departure of Bartkowski and the diminishing role of Gerald Riggs; an immediately identifiable franchise player. However, Sanders and the Falcons ended up in a contract dispute that lasted until the week leading up to the first game of the regular season as Sanders, among other things, used his standing as a prospect as an outfielder for the New York Yankees as negotiating leverage. Upon finally agreeing to terms, Sanders only practiced the Friday before the game and participated in the Saturday walk-through, put on the football pads for the first time in seven months in the season opener vs. the Rams and returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown, making him the only modern-day athlete to hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same week (he had only left the Yankees a few days prior). However, the Falcons were unable to win many games, and in response Coach Marion Campbell resigned and replaced by Jim Hanifan on an interim basis. The Falcons would go on to a 3–13 record.