Atlanta Falcons · Franchise era 1 of 7
Building an identity: the Atlanta Falcons story
Franchise era
1966—1988
Building an identity
Atlanta Falcons
The story in one sentence
After a difficult expansion launch, Atlanta found its first playoff teams through an attacking defense, Bartkowski's arm and Andrews's punishing running.
The Grits Blitz and Bartkowski bring the first wins
Steve Bartkowski, Claude Humphrey and William Andrews gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for prime time changes the temperature.
Timeline
How it unfolded
The foundation
The franchise context
Atlanta's history moves from expansion growing pains to Prime Time, the Dirty Birds, Michael Vick and the Matt Ryan teams that reached the franchise's second Super Bowl.
1978-12-24
Wild Card: Philadelphia Eagles vs Atlanta Falcons
1978-12-30
Divisional Round: Atlanta Falcons vs Dallas Cowboys
1981-01-04
Divisional Round: Dallas Cowboys vs Atlanta Falcons
After 1988
What came next
Sanders brought speed and swagger to a franchise still searching for consistency, setting the tone for a bolder Atlanta football identity.
The core