1998 Atlanta Falcons

The 1998 Atlanta Falcons season was the team's 33rd in the National Football League.

1998 saw the Falcons qualify for the Super Bowl for the first time under the guidance of second-year head coach Dan Reeves. The team won its final nine games of the season to earn the #2 seed in the NFC for the playoffs and the first-week bye. They beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional round and the #1-seed Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game before losing to Reeves' old team, the Denver Broncos, 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII.

Head coach Dan Reeves almost didn't make it to the end of the season. After Week 14, he was diagnosed with multiple blockages to his coronary arteries, necessitating quadruple bypass surgery. Reeves admitted he ignored the warning signs in hopes of finishing the season, but ultimately felt he needed to be checked out. Doctors stated by the time he went for treatment, he may have been "within hours of a catastrophic heart attack. Defensive coordinator Rich Brooks substituted for him has head coach during Weeks 15 and 16. Reeves returned for Week 17 and finished the season.

The Falcons ranked fourth in the league in points scored (442 points) and surrendered the fourth-fewest points (289) in 1998; the Falcons also led the league in turnover differential at +20. They were the first dome team to play in a Super Bowl.

Notable games

 * October 4 vs. Carolina Panthers:

The Falcons' most decisive win of the season came in a 51-23 rout in the Georgia Dome. Jamal Anderson rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown while Chris Chandler threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns with two picks. From Tim Dwight's 93-yard opening kickoff return touchdown, the Falcons never let Carolina have a sniff of contention, leading 38-3 by the third quarter before cruising home with the win.


 * November 8 at New England Patriots:

Atlanta's offense rolled up 41 points while the defense limited New England to just ten points at Foxboro Stadium in a game where New England never got closer than a 14-3 score after one quarter and trailed 28-3 at the half. Jamal Anderson ran in two scores, Chris Chandler threw two more, and Chuck Smith grabbed a fumble at his 29 and ran it back for a touchdown. Chandler completed 15 of 22 throws for 240 yards and Anderson rushed for 104 yards. About the only thing that went wrong for the Falcons were two meaningless picks by the Patriots' Ty Law.


 * November 15 vs. San Francisco 49ers:

The Falcons avenged one of the only two losses they would suffer in the regular season by besting the Niners 31-19 in the Georgia Dome. Steve Young threw for 342 yards and touchdowns to Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice, but Jamal Anderson's 100-rushing yards and two scores helped the Falcons put away the Niners in a wild fourth quarter in which the two teams combined for 34 points (21 by the Falcons).


 * NFC Divisional Playoff vs. San Francisco 49ers:

The rubber match of Atlanta and San Francisco's 1998 season came in the Georgia Dome a week after the Niners' spectacular last-minute comeback over the Green Bay Packers. The Falcons, though, would not be denied as Jamal Anderson once again hauled the mail with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Steve Young threw a touchdown to Jerry Rice and ran in a late fourth-quarter score; Ty Detmer threw the ensuing two-point conversion to Greg Clark to put the score at 20-18, but the Falcons never let the Niners any closer for their first playoff win since 1991. The Niners were hampered by the loss of running back Garrison Hearst to a serious ankle injury on the first play from scrimmage.


 * NFC Championship at Minnesota Vikings:

As of 2011 still the greatest win in Falcons history and one of the most amazing upsets in NFL history. The 16-1 Vikings, boasting the league's first post-merger 500-point offense, were heavy favorites at the Metrodome, and raced to a 20-7 lead in the second quarter off two Randall Cunningham touchdowns (one rushing and a throw to Randy Moss), but at the end of the first half Chris Chandler found Terance Mathis for a 14-yard score. After a Morten Andersen field goal made it 20-17 in the third, the Vikings surged to a 27-17 lead on another Cunningham TD throw (this one to Matthew Hatchette). In the frantic final ten minutes of regulation the Falcons were forced to turn the ball over on downs, but the Vikings fumbled it right back and Andersen kicked another field goal for a 27-20 score. In the final four minutes Gary Anderson, who hadn't missed a field goal all season, shanked a 38-yarder, and suddenly the surging Falcons had a chance, and nailed it when Chandler led the Falcons downfield and connected with Mathis in the endzone with 49 seconds remaining. The Vikings got the ball in overtime but Eugene Robinson stopped a deep pass to Moss and the Falcons got it back on a punt. Chandler led the Falcons downfield again and Andersen nailed a 38-yard field goal at 11:52 of the extra quarter; the 30-27 final sent the Falcons to Super Bowl XXXIII.

Awards and records
NFC Championship Trophy