The 1974 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's ninth year in the National Football League (NFL). After coming close to their maiden postseason appearance the previous season and finishing with a best-to-date 9–5 record despite an upset loss to the Cardinals, the Falcons traded star cornerback Ken Reaves to the archrival New Orleans Saints to obtain in-demand guard Royce Smith, a former Georgia Bulldogs All-American,“Falcons deny trading Reaves Connected with Players’ Strike”; in Ellensburg Daily Record; July 20, 1974; p. 4 in a widely criticized move (Reaves played only five games for New Orleans before he was cut; he signed with St. Louis, where he remained through his retirement in 1978). During the strike-affected pre-season, they beat the Eagles 23–7 in a rain-soaked match,“Falcons blast Eagles, 23–7”; in St. Petersburg Times; August 5, 1974; p. 9C before losing to the Raiders, 28–16.“Harold Hart, Stabler Leader Raiders’ Win Over Falcons”; in The Tuscaloosa News; August 11, 1974; p. 2C Soon afterwards the Falcons lost key offensive tackle Bill Sandeman for the entire season with a slipped disc in his back.“Falcon Tackle out for Season”; in Bangor Daily News; August 22, 1974; p. 18
Along with a form lapse from quarterback Bob Lee and an injury to running back Dave Hampton,“Hampton out with Bum Knee”; in Rome News-Tribune; August 27, 1974; p. 6 this destroyed the Falcons’ offense. The 1974 Falcons scored 111 points with a mere twelve touchdowns, the lowest total in franchise history, and the second lowest by any team in a fourteen-game NFL seasonPro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1961 to 1978, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For and Requiring Points For less than 200 after the infamous “Zero Gang” offense of the 1977 Buccaneers who were shut out six times in fourteen games. Their failure to score more than seventeen points in any game has been equalled since only by the infamous offense of the 1992 Seahawks. Overall, Bob Lee, statistically, had one of the poorest seasons by a quarterback in Atlanta Falcons history, throwing for 852 yards, just 3 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and completed just 45.3% of his passes (going 78 for 172) to go with his 32.4 passer rating. He also got sacked 31 times for 269 yards.
The Falcons sacked long-serving head coach Norman van Brocklin after being thrashed by the Miami Dolphins and having heard demands from fans to make that move. Three of his successors have suffered the same humiliation in the middle of a season: Marion Campbell (1976 and 1989), Dan Reeves (2003) and Dan Quinn (2020), and Bobby Petrino quit with three games remaining in 2007.“Falcons Dump the Dutchman”; in The Pittsburgh Press, November 5, 1974; p. 69“Steelers Take on Falcons”; in St. Petersburg Times; October 28, 1974; p. 3C
The 1974 Falcons suffered through the humiliation of being the first Falcons team to be swept by the Saints since the teams became division rivals with the AFL-NFL merger. The Saints entered the season 1–9 all-time vs. the Falcons, with that win coming in the teams' first meeting in 1967. New Orleans did not sweep Atlanta again until 1983.
Offseason NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 15 Dallas Cowboys L 0–24 0–1 Atlanta Stadium 52,322 Recap 2 September 22 San Francisco 49ers L 10–16 0–2 Atlanta Stadium 47,686 Recap 3 September 29 at New Orleans Saints L 13–14 0–3 Tulane Stadium 62,273 Recap 4 October 6 at New York Giants W 14–7 1–3 Yale Bowl 42,379 Recap 5 October 13 Chicago Bears W 13–10 2–3 Atlanta Stadium 47,835 Recap 6 October 20 New Orleans Saints L 3–13 2–4 Atlanta Stadium 47,217 Recap 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–24 2–5 Three Rivers Stadium 48,094 Recap 8 November 3 at Miami Dolphins L 7–42 2–6 Miami Orange Bowl 64,399 Recap 9 November 10 at Los Angeles Rams L 0–21 2–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 70,056 Recap 10 November 17 Baltimore Colts L 7–17 2–8 Atlanta Stadium 41,278 Recap 11 November 24 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–27 2–9 Candlestick Park 45,435 Recap 12 December 1 Los Angeles Rams L 7–30 2–10 Atlanta Stadium 18,648 Recap 13 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–23 2–11 Metropolitan Stadium 47,105 Recap 14 December 15 Green Bay Packers W 10–3 3–11 Atlanta Stadium 10,020 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 3: at New Orleans Saints
Week 4: at New York Giants
Week 5: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 6: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 7: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 8: at Miami Dolphins
Week 9: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 10: vs. Baltimore Colts
Week 11: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 12: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 13: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 14: vs. Green Bay Packers
Standings
References
External links 1974 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com