2018 Atlanta Falcons season

The 2018 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 53rd in the National Football League, their second playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and their fourth under head coach Dan Quinn. The Falcons attempted to be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium as an expected Super Bowl contender. However, the Falcons were riddled with injuries, losing 7 starters to IR with the Falcons stumbling to a 1–4 start.
Following a 31–17 loss to the Saints in Week 12, the Falcons fell to 4–7 and failed to match their 10–6 campaign from 2017. With a 34–20 loss to the [2018 2018 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers], the Falcons fell to 4–9 and suffered their first losing season since the 2014 season. Despite beating the Arizona Cardinals 40–14 in Week 15, the Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2015 with a win by the Minnesota Vikings. From 2018 to present, the Falcons have failed to make the playoffs along with having a losing season. However, they were able to end their season with a 3 game win streak to finish 7–9.

Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	26	Calvin Ridley	WR	Alabama
2	58	Isaiah Oliver	CB	Colorado
3	90	Deadrin Senat	DT	South Florida
4	126	Ito Smith	RB	Southern Miss
6	194	Russell Gage	WR	LSU	from Los Angeles Rams
6	200	Foyesade Oluokun	LB	Yale

Draft trades

The Falcons traded their fifth-round selection to Denver in exchange for offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo.
The Falcons were awarded a seventh-round compensatory pick.
The Falcons traded both of their seventh-round selections to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' sixth-round selection.

Preseason

The Falcons' preseason opponents and schedule was announced on April 11.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1		at New York Jets	L 0–17	0–1	MetLife Stadium
2		Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–28	0–2	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
3		at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 6–17	0–3	EverBank Field
4		Miami Dolphins	L 7–34	0–4	Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Philadelphia Eagles

'''NFL Kickoff Game'''

Week 10: at Cleveland Browns

Week 12: at New Orleans Saints

'''NFL on Thanksgiving Day'''

Week 13: vs. Baltimore Ravens

The Falcons were the only NFC South team to lose to all of their AFC North opponents in 2018.

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Matt Ryan eclipsed 4,000 yards, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 4,000 in at least eight consecutive seasons, joining Drew Brees & Peyton Manning. Julio Jones eclipsed 1,400 yards and became the first player in NFL history to register five consecutive seasons with at least 1,400 yards.

Week 15: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Despite this win, Minnesota's win to Miami eliminated the Falcons from post-season contention and once again assures that the Super Bowl host team will not play the championship game on their own field.