| 1975 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| General manager | Pat Peppler |
| Head coach | Marion Campbell |
| Home stadium | Atlanta Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–10 |
| Division place | 3rdNFC West |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The1975Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's tenth year in theNational Football League (NFL). With the first overall pick of the NFL draft, the Falcons selected quarterbackSteve Bartkowski out of theUniversity of California. However, the pick would do them no good as the Falcons slumped to another miserable 4–10 record and missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season. This was also the first and only full season for head coachMarion Campbell until the 1980s, as he was hired to coach the final 6 games of theprevious season and was fired 5 games into thefollowing season.
| 1975 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Steve Bartkowski * | Quarterback | California | fromBaltimore Colts |
| 2 | 29 | Ralph Ortega | Linebacker | Florida | |
| 3 | 65 | Woody Thompson | Running back | Miami (FL) | fromHouston Oilers |
| 4 | 81 | John Nessel | Guard | Penn State | |
| 5 | 123 | Greg McCrary | Tight end | Clark Atlanta University | fromBuffalo Bills |
| 6 | 132 | Fulton Kuykendall | Linebacker | UCLA | fromBaltimore Colts |
| 6 | 133 | Doug Payton | Offensive tackle | Colorado | |
| 7 | 159 | Mike Esposito | Running back | Boston College | |
| 8 | 185 | Brent Adams | Offensive tackle | Chattanooga | |
| 9 | 211 | Brad Davis | Running back | LSU | |
| 10 | 237 | Marshall Mills | Wide receiver | West Virginia | |
| 11 | 263 | Jeff Merrow | Defensive end | West Virginia | |
| 12 | 289 | Alonza Pickett | Tackle | Texas Southern | |
| 13 | 315 | Carl Russ | Linebacker | Michigan | |
| 14 | 341 | Steve Robinson | Defensive tackle | Tuskegee | fromBaltimore Colts |
| 15 | 367 | Jimmy Robinson | Wide receiver | Georgia Tech | |
| 16 | 393 | Steve Knutson | Tackle | USC | |
| 17 | 419 | Mitch Anderson | Quarterback | Northwestern | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB) Special teams(ST) | Reserve lists
Rookies in italics |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | L 20–23 | 0–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 42,172 | Recap |
| 2 | September 28 | Detroit Lions | L 14–17 | 0–2 | Atlanta Stadium | 45,218 | Recap |
| 3 | October 5 | New Orleans Saints | W 14–7 | 1–2 | Atlanta Stadium | 29,444 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | atSan Francisco 49ers | W 17–3 | 2–2 | Candlestick Park | 44,043 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 7–22 | 2–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 64,843 | Recap |
| 6 | October 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–21 | 2–4 | Atlanta Stadium | 45,811 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | atNew Orleans Saints | L 7–23 | 2–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 49,342 | Recap |
| 8 | November 9 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 0–38 | 2–6 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,751 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | Los Angeles Rams | L 7–16 | 2–7 | Atlanta Stadium | 44,595 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | Denver Broncos | W 35–21 | 3–7 | Atlanta Stadium | 28,686 | Recap |
| 11 | November 30 | atOakland Raiders | L 34–37(OT) | 3–8 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 50,860 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | Washington Redskins | L 27–30 | 3–9 | Atlanta Stadium | 52,809 | Recap |
| 13 | December 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–9 | 4–9 | Atlanta Stadium | 38,501 | Recap |
| 14 | December 21 | atGreen Bay Packers | L 13–22 | 4–10 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Falcons | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
atAtlanta Stadium,Atlanta, Georgia
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Falcons | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| 49ers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Rams | 10 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 22 |
atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles, California
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Falcons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Saints | 0 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
atLouisiana Superdome,New Orleans, Louisiana
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vikings | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
atMetropolitan Stadium,Bloomington, Minnesota
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Kim McQuilken started at quarterback for the Falcons, going 5 of 26 (for a completion percentage of 19.2) for 43 yards and threw five interceptions, finishing the game with apasser rating of zero.[3]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Falcons | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 13 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
| Raiders | 21 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 37 |
atOakland–Alameda County Coliseum,Oakland, California
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 3 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
| Falcons | 0 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Falcons | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Packers | 3 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 22 |
atLambeau Field,Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Los Angeles Rams(2) | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 9–2 | 312 | 135 | W6 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 255 | 286 | L4 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–3 | 3–8 | 240 | 289 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–5 | 2–9 | 165 | 360 | L7 |
| |
| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Wild card / First round berths (8) | |
| Division championships (6) | |
| Conference championships (2) | |
| Ring of Honor | |
| Current league affiliations |
|
