The 2014 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), and their seventh and final season 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. As a result, Smith was fired after his seventh year as head coach, after two straight years with a losing record.
The 2014 Atlanta Falcons were featured on the HBO documentary series Hard Knocks.
2014 draft class
2014 Atlanta Falcons Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 6 Jake Matthews Offensive tackle Texas A&M 2 37 Ra'Shede Hageman Defensive tackle Minnesota 3 68 Dezmen Southward Free safety Wisconsin 4 103 Devonta Freeman Running back Florida State Prince Shembo Linebacker Notre Dame 5 147 Ricardo Allen Cornerback Purdue 168 Marquis Spruill Linebacker Syracuse 6 None — see below 7 Yawin Smallwood Linebacker Connecticut Tyler Starr Linebacker South Dakota Compensatory selection Note: The Falcons traded their sixth- (No. 182 overall) and original seventh- (No. 220 overall) round selections to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' fifth-round selection (No. 168 overall).
Staff
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Miami Dolphins W 16–10 1–0 Georgia Dome Recap 2 at Houston Texans L 7–32 1–1 NRG Stadium Recap 3 Tennessee Titans L 17–24 1–2 Georgia Dome Recap 4 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 24–14 2–2 EverBank Field Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 7 New Orleans Saints W 37–34 1–0 Georgia Dome Recap 2 September 14 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–24 1–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 56–14 2–1 Georgia Dome Recap 4 September 28 at Minnesota Vikings L 28–41 2–2 TCF Bank Stadium Recap 5 October 5 at New York Giants L 20–30 2–3 MetLife Stadium Recap 6 October 12 Chicago Bears L 13–27 2–4 Georgia Dome Recap 7 October 19 at Baltimore Ravens L 7–29 2–5 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 8 October 26 Detroit Lions L 21–22 2–6 Wembley Stadium Recap 9Bye 10 November 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–17 3–6 Raymond James Stadium Recap 11 November 16 at Carolina Panthers W 19–17 4–6 Bank of America Stadium Recap 12 November 23 Cleveland Browns L 24–26 4–7 Georgia Dome Recap 13 November 30 Arizona Cardinals W 29–18 5–7 Georgia Dome Recap 14 at Green Bay Packers L 37–43 5–8 Lambeau Field Recap 15 December 14 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–27 5–9 Georgia Dome Recap 16 December 21 at New Orleans Saints W 30–14 6–9 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 17 December 28 Carolina Panthers L 3–34 6–10 Georgia Dome Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals
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. This was the first NFC vs. NFC game to air on CBS since the 1993 NFL season.
Week 4: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 5: at New York Giants
Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 7: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions NFL International Series
Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 11: at Carolina Panthers
Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 13: vs. Arizona Cardinals
This was the Falcons' only win outside the NFC South division.
Week 14: at Green Bay Packers
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
Division
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. 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. The NFL fined the Falcons $350,000 and took away a fifth round draft pick in the 2016 draft as punishment.
References
External links