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.
Offseason 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.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 385, Simon & Schuster, 1999, The signing of Grabowski upset Taylor but he stated he would not leave Green Bay until his contract expired, therefore the Falcons could not acquire the running back.
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.
Undrafted free agents
+ 1966 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeChuck BrooksCornerbackWileyWade TraynhamKickerFrederick
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Roster The expansion Falcons were allowed to field a roster of 42(only dress 40) players while the rest of the league was limited to 40 during 1966.
Regular season 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. 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."Major Events in Falcons History" , NFL 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. 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.
Schedule 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. A bye week was necessary in , as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.
Game summaries Week 1 vs Los Angeles Rams
Week 7: at Green Bay Packers
Week 11 at New York Giants
Standings
Awards and records Tommy Nobis, NFL Rookie of the Year
References
External links 1966 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com