| 1976 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| General manager | Pat Peppler |
| Head coach | Marion Campbell (first 5 games; 1–4 record) Pat Peppler (interim; 3–6 record) |
| Home stadium | Atlanta Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–10 |
| Division place | 3rdNFC West |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The1976Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 11th year in theNational Football League (NFL). The season saw the Falcons attempting to improve on their 4–10 record from1975. However, they were only able to match the record, as they finished the 1976 season at 4–10 and missed the playoffs for the 11th straight season. After a 1–4 start to the season, head coachMarion Campbell was fired by general managerPat Peppler, who himself would close out the season as the interim head coach and finish the season with a 3–6 record. The Falcons also suffered the ignominy of being the only established NFL team to lose to one of the league's two expansion teams when they lost 30–13 to theSeattle Seahawks on November 7.
For the season, the Falcons converted from gray facemasks to white facemasks.
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | Nick Bebout | Offensive tackle | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | Don Hansen | Linebacker | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | Vince Kendrick | Running back | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1976 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Bubba Bean | Running back | Texas A&M | |
| 2 | 36 | Sonny Collins | Running back | Kentucky | |
| 3 | 71 | Dave Scott | Guard | Kansas | |
| 4 | 102 | Walt Brett | Defensive end | Montana | |
| 6 | 169 | Stan Varner | Defensive tackle | BYU | |
| 7 | 193 | Karl Farmer | Wide receiver | Pittsburgh | |
| 8 | 219 | Frank Reed | Cornerback | Washington | |
| 9 | 246 | Phil McKinnely | Offensive tackle | UCLA | |
| 11 | 302 | Chuck Brislin | Offensive tackle | Mississippi St | |
| 12 | 329 | Phil Bolton | Kicker | Montana St | |
| 13 | 356 | Mike Williams | Offensive tackle | Florida | |
| 14 | 383 | Mark Husfloen | Defensive end | Washington St | |
| 15 | 414 | Ron Olson | Defensive back | Washington | |
| 16 | 441 | Pat Curto | Linebacker | Ohio St | |
| 17 | 468 | Tony Green | Defensive back | Texas Tech | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | Los Angeles Rams | L 14–30 | 0–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 53,607 |
| 2 | September 19 | atDetroit Lions | L 10–24 | 0–2 | Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium | 50,840 |
| 3 | September 26 | atChicago Bears | W 10–0 | 1–2 | Soldier Field | 41,029 |
| 4 | October 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–14 | 1–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 45,535 |
| 5 | October 10 | atNew Orleans Saints | L 0–30 | 1–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 51,521 |
| 6 | October 17 | Cleveland Browns | L 17–20 | 1–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 33,364 |
| 7 | October 23 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 0–15 | 1–6 | Candlestick Park | 50,240 |
| 8 | October 31 | New Orleans Saints | W 23–20 | 2–6 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 34,127 |
| 9 | November 7 | atSeattle Seahawks | L 13–30 | 2–7 | Kingdome | 57,985 |
| 10 | November 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 21–16 | 3–7 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 20,058 |
| 11 | November 21 | Dallas Cowboys | W 17–10 | 4–7 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 54,992 |
| 12 | November 28 | atHouston Oilers | L 14–20 | 4–8 | Astrodome | 25,838 |
| 13 | December 4 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 0–59 | 4–9 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 57,366 |
| 14 | December 12 | Green Bay Packers | L 20–24 | 4–10 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 23,436 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | ||||||
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Los Angeles Rams(3) | 10 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 7–0 | 9–2–1 | 351 | 190 | W4 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5–2 | 7–5 | 270 | 190 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–5 | 3–8 | 253 | 346 | L3 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–5 | 4–8 | 172 | 312 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–3 | 1–12 | 229 | 429 | L5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 24 |
atPontiac Metropolitan Stadium,Pontiac, Michigan
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| |
| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Wild card / First round berths (8) | |
| Division championships (6) | |
| Conference championships (2) | |
| Ring of Honor | |
| Current league affiliations |
|
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