1998 Atlanta Falcons season

1998 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	Dan Reeves Rich Brooks (weeks 15–16)
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	14–2
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoff (49ers) 20–18 Won NFC Championship Game (Vikings) 30–27 Lost Super Bowl XXXIII (Broncos) 19–34

The 1998 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 33rd in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons qualified for the Super Bowl for the first time under the guidance of second-year head coach Dan Reeves. The team won its final nine games of the season to earn the #2 seed in the National Football Conference (NFC) for the playoffs and the first-week bye. They beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional round and the #1-seed Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game before losing to Reeves' old team, the Denver Broncos, 34–19 in Super Bowl XXXIII.

Head coach Dan Reeves almost didn't make it to the end of the season. After Week 14, he was diagnosed with multiple blockages to his coronary arteries, necessitating quadruple bypass surgery. Reeves admitted he ignored the warning signs in hopes of finishing the season, but ultimately felt he needed to be checked out. Doctors stated by the time he went for treatment, he may have been "within hours of a catastrophic heart attack.^[1] Defensive coordinator Rich Brooks substituted for him has head coach during Weeks 15 and 16. Reeves returned for Week 17 and finished the season.

The Falcons ranked fourth in the league in points scored (442 points) and surrendered the fourth-fewest points (289) in 1998; the Falcons also led the league in turnover differential at +20. They were the first dome team to play in a Super Bowl.

Offseason

NFL draft

1998 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	12	Keith Brooking *	Linebacker	Georgia Tech
2	53	Bob Hallen	Center	Kent State
3	74	Jammi German	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
4	103	Omar Brown	Defensive back	North Carolina
4	114	Tim Dwight	Wide receiver	Iowa
6	166	Elijah Williams	Defensive back	Florida
7	199	Ephraim Salaam	Offensive tackle	San Diego State
7	201	Ken Oxendine	Running back	Virginia Tech
7	203	Henry Slay	Defensive tackle	West Virginia
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1998 Atlanta Falcons staff
	Front office President – Taylor Smith Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Dan Reeves General Manager – Harold Richardson Vice President of Football Operations – Ron Hill Director of Player Personnel/College – Reed Johnson Director of Player Personnel/Pro – Chuck Connor Assistant to Head Coach/Pro Personnel – Marvin Bass Head coaches Head Coach – Dan Reeves Assistant Head Coach – Rich Brooks Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs – George Sefcik Quarterbacks – Jack Burns Wide Receivers – Rennie Simmons Tight Ends – James Daniel Offensive Line – Art Shell Offensive Quality Control – Ed West			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Rich Brooks Defensive Line – Bill Kollar Linebackers – Don Blackmon Secondary – Ron Meeks Defensive Quality Control – Brian Xanders Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe DeCamillis Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Al Miller Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Tim Jorgensen

Roster

1998 Atlanta Falcons roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Chris Chandler 17 Steve DeBerg 13 Tony Graziani Running backs 32 Jamal Anderson 44 Bob Christian FB 45 Gary Downs 28 Harold Green 33 Ken Oxendine Wide receivers 83 Tim Dwight KR/PR 87 Jammi German 82 Ronnie Harris 89 Todd Kinchen 80 Tony Martin 81 Terance Mathis		Tight ends 85 Brian Kozlowski FB 88 O. J. Santiago 86 Ed Smith Offensive linemen 68 Calvin Collins G 64 Bob Hallen G 76 Jose Portilla T 74 Ephraim Salaam T 67 Adam Schreiber G 61 Robbie Tobeck C 70 Bob Whitfield T 79 Dave Widell C 69 Gene Williams G		Defensive linemen 92 Lester Archambeau DE 91 John Burrough DE 75 Shane Dronett DT 96 Antonio Edwards DE 98 Travis Hall DT 90 Chuck Smith DE 93 Shawn Swayda DT 95 Esera Tuaolo DT Linebackers 97 Cornelius Bennett OLB 56 Keith Brooking OLB 94 Henri Crockett OLB 54 Ruffin Hamilton MLB 52 Craig Sauer OLB 59 Ben Talley OLB 58 Jessie Tuggle MLB		Defensive backs 26 Darren Anderson CB 47 Chris Bayne SS 43 Juran Bolden CB 20 Michael Booker CB 23 Ronnie Bradford CB 27 Omar Brown FS 34 Ray Buchanan CB 25 Devin Bush SS 29 Randy Fuller CB 41 Eugene Robinson FS 35 William White SS 21 Elijah Williams CB Special teams  5 Morten Andersen K  4 Dan Stryzinski P Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 6, 1998	at Carolina Panthers	W 19–14	Ericsson Stadium	FOX 1:00et	65,129
2	September 13, 1998	Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–12	Georgia Dome	FOX 1:00et	46,456
3	Bye
4	September 27, 1998	at San Francisco 49ers	L 20–31	Candlestick Park	FOX 4:15et/1:15pt	62,296
5	October 4, 1998	Carolina Panthers	W 51–23	Georgia Dome	FOX 1:00et	50,724
6	October 11, 1998	at New York Giants	W 34–20	Giants Stadium	ESPN 8:15et	71,173
7	October 18, 1998	New Orleans Saints	W 31–23	Georgia Dome	FOX 1:00et	60,774
8	October 25, 1998	at New York Jets	L 3–28	The Meadowlands	FOX 1:00et	71,573
9	November 1, 1998	St. Louis Rams	W 38–15	Georgia Dome	FOX 1:00et	37,996
10	November 8, 1998	at New England Patriots	W 41–10	Foxboro Stadium	FOX 1:00et	59,790
11	November 15, 1998	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–19	Georgia Dome	FOX 1:00et	69,828
12	November 22, 1998	Chicago Bears	W 20–13	Georgia Dome	FOX 1:00et	60,804
13	November 29, 1998	at St. Louis Rams	W 21–10	Trans World Dome	FOX 1:00et/12:00ct	47,971
14	December 6, 1998	Indianapolis Colts	W 28–21	Georgia Dome	CBS 1:00et	61,141
15	December 13, 1998	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–17	Louisiana Superdome	FOX 1:00et/12:00ct	61,678
16	December 20, 1998	at Detroit Lions	W 24–17	Pontiac Silverdome	FOX 4:15et	67,143
17	December 27, 1998	Miami Dolphins	W 38–16	Georgia Dome	CBS 1:00et	69,754

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) Atlanta Falcons	14	2	0	.875	442	289	W9
(4) San Francisco 49ers	12	4	0	.750	479	328	W1
New Orleans Saints	6	10	0	.375	305	359	L3
Carolina Panthers	4	12	0	.250	336	413	W2
St. Louis Rams	4	12	0	.250	285	378	L2

Notable games

• October 4 vs. Carolina Panthers:

The Falcons' most decisive win of the season came in a 51–23 rout in the Georgia Dome. Jamal Anderson rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown while Chris Chandler threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns with two picks. From Tim Dwight's 93-yard opening kickoff return touchdown, the Falcons never let Carolina have a sniff of contention, leading 38–3 by the third quarter before cruising home with the win.

• November 8 at New England Patriots:

Atlanta's offense rolled up 41 points while the defense limited New England to just ten points at Foxboro Stadium in a game where New England never got closer than a 14–3 score after one quarter and trailed 28–3 at the half. Jamal Anderson ran in two scores, Chris Chandler threw two more, and Chuck Smith grabbed a fumble at his 29 and ran it back for a touchdown. Chandler completed 15 of 22 throws for 240 yards and Anderson rushed for 104 yards. About the only thing that went wrong for the Falcons were two meaningless picks by the Patriots' Ty Law.

• November 15 vs. San Francisco 49ers:

The Falcons avenged one of the only two losses they would suffer in the regular season by besting the Niners 31–19 in the Georgia Dome. Steve Young threw for 342 yards and touchdowns to Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice, but Jamal Anderson's 100-rushing yards and two scores helped the Falcons put away the Niners in a wild fourth quarter in which the two teams combined for 34 points (21 by the Falcons).

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	TV Time	Attendance
Divisional	January 9, 1999	San Francisco 49ers	W 20–18	Georgia Dome	FOX 12:30et	70,262
NFC Champ.	January 17, 1999	at Minnesota Vikings	W 30–27 (OT)	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	FOX 12:30et/11:30ct	64,060
Super Bowl	January 31, 1999	Denver Broncos	L 19–34	Pro Player Stadium	FOX 6:30et	74,803

NFC Divisional Playoff: vs. San Francisco 49ers

NFC Divisional Round: San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	10	0	8	18
Falcons	7	7	3	3	20

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA

• Date: January 9, 1999
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. PDT

The rubber match of Atlanta and San Francisco's 1998 season came in the Georgia Dome a week after the Niners' spectacular last-minute comeback over the Green Bay Packers. The Falcons, though, would not be denied as Jamal Anderson once again hauled the mail with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Steve Young threw a touchdown to Jerry Rice and ran in a late fourth-quarter score; Ty Detmer threw the ensuing two-point conversion to Greg Clark to put the score at 20–18, but the Falcons never let the Niners any closer for their first playoff win since 1991.

NFC Championship: at Minnesota Vikings

NFC Championship Game: Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Falcons	7	7	3	10	3	30
Vikings	7	13	0	7	0	27

at Hubert Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

• Date: January 17, 1999
• Game time: 11:30 p.m. PDT

As of 2016 this remains the greatest win in Falcons history and one of the most amazing upsets in NFL history. The 16–1 Vikings, boasting the league's highest-scoring post-merger offense, were heavy favorites at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and raced to a 20–7 lead in the second quarter off two Randall Cunningham touchdowns (one rushing and a throw to Randy Moss), but at the end of the first half Chris Chandler found Terance Mathis for a 14-yard score. After a Morten Andersen field goal made it 20–17 in the third, the Vikings surged to a 27–17 lead on another Cunningham TD throw (this one to Matthew Hatchette). In the frantic final ten minutes of regulation the Falcons were forced to turn the ball over on downs, but the Vikings fumbled it right back and Andersen kicked another field goal for a 27–20 score. In the final four minutes Gary Anderson, who hadn't missed a field goal all season, shanked a 38-yarder, and suddenly the surging Falcons had a chance, and nailed it when Chandler led the Falcons downfield and connected with Mathis in the endzone with 49 seconds remaining. The Vikings got the ball in overtime but Eugene Robinson stopped a deep pass to Moss and the Falcons got it back on a punt. Chandler led the Falcons downfield again and Andersen nailed a 38-yard field goal at 11:52 of the extra quarter; the 30–27 final sent the Falcons to Super Bowl XXXIII.

Super Bowl XXXIII: vs. Denver Broncos

Super Bowl XXXIII: Denver Broncos vs Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	10	0	17	34
Falcons	3	3	0	13	19

at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, FL

• Date: January 31, 1999
• Game time: 6:30 p.m. PDT

References

1. "NFC West". The Sporting News. 1998. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
2. "1998 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
3. "1998 Atlanta Falcons starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.

External links

• 1998 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com