The 1986 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 21st season in the National Football League (NFL). It began with moderate expectations. Head coach Dan Henning was going into his fourth year having failed to post a record above .500 in any of his first three seasons. Local media, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saw it as Henning's last chance to save his head coaching job. Atlanta entered the season led by, among others, Gerald Riggs, Scott Case, Bill Fralic and Jeff Van Note. David Archer was the starting quarterback heading into the season.
The Falcons won their first 4 games, but their season was effectively ruined by going 3âÂÂ8âÂÂ1 afterwards.
The Falcons began the 1986 season strong by winning their first four games 4âÂÂ0 start, beating their NFC West rivals, the New Orleans Saints, 31âÂÂ10 in the season opener. They opened at home in Atlanta with a 33âÂÂ13 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Then, after a thrilling 37âÂÂ35 win in Dallas, they beat the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23âÂÂ20. The first loss came to the Philadelphia Eagles, whose strong defense coached by Buddy Ryan took care of the Falcons 16âÂÂ0. Henning didn't let the loss affect his team as they beat the playoff bound Los Angeles Rams 26âÂÂ14, putting the Falcons in first place with a record of 5-1. Things seemed to be going great for Atlanta, as they were able to tie the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers 10âÂÂ10. Following the tie to the 49ers, a five-game slide derailed the season, starting with a 14âÂÂ7 loss to the Rams, then a 25âÂÂ17 loss to the defending AFC champion New England Patriots. They returned home to face the 8âÂÂ1 New York Jets, where they lost 28âÂÂ14 to drop them to 5âÂÂ4âÂÂ1. The next week a 13âÂÂ10 loss to the Chicago Bears knocked them into last place in the division. Their last loss of the streak was a 20âÂÂ0 loss to the 49ers. The now 5âÂÂ6âÂÂ1 Falcons ended their winless streak against the Miami Dolphins in a 20âÂÂ14 victory. The nadir of the season came in a 28âÂÂ23 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, who started the year 0âÂÂ13, and was the Coltsâ first win of the year. By that time, the Falcons were out of the playoff picture with Los Angeles and San Francisco already in. The Falcons dropped their last home game 14âÂÂ9 to New Orleans. They concluded their season with a 20âÂÂ6 victory against the Detroit Lions.
Atlanta was 6th in scoring defense allowing 280 points, 21st in scoring offense scoring 280 points. Passing; 246 completions of 452 attempts for 3046 yards. David Archer threw for 10 of the teams 14 passing touchdowns, Turk Schonert threw the other four. Archer had nine of the teams 17 interceptions, and Schonert was picked the other eight times. The team rushed for 12 touchdowns nine of which came from Gerald Riggs, one from Schonert, one from William Andrews, one Cliff Austin.