The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division.
In 1965, the Falcons became a member of the National Football League as an expansion team. Prior to this, the NFL had offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise in an effort to dissuade him from joining the competing American Football League (AFL).
The Atlanta Falcons have been in existence for the past 55 years, and during that time they have collected a record of 379–487–6 (369–473–6 in the regular season and 10–14 in the playoffs), while also winning the division championship in 1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2016.
The Falcons have competed in two Super Bowls, the first being Super Bowl XXXIII in 1998, which they lost to the Denver Broncos by a score of 34–19. Their second Super Bowl appearance came 18 years later, in Super Bowl LI, where they were defeated by the New England Patriots by a score of 34–28 in overtime.
The Atlanta Falcons play their home games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which first opened its doors for the 2017 season. The team’s administrative offices and practice facilities are located on a 50-acre (20 ha) campus in Flowery Branch, which is located in Hall County to the northeast of Atlanta.
Who will Falcons get for QB?
After just one day of training camp, the Atlanta Falcons have decided on a new starting quarterback for the upcoming season. This year’s starting quarterback will be former No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota.
Atlanta’s backup quarterback is rookie Desmond Ridder, who was drafted 74th overall in this year’s NFL Draft. Mariota was signed by the Falcons immediately after the team traded longtime starter Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts for a draft pick.
This is Mariota’s second time working with Falcons coach Arthur Smith, the first time being with the Titans when they were both with Mariota. After signing with the Falcons, Mariota stated that the opportunity to play against Smith was a major reason in his choice to join the team.