2008 Atlanta Falcons season

2008 Atlanta Falcons season
2008 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Arthur Blank
General manager	Thomas Dimitroff
Head coach	Mike Smith
Home field	Georgia Dome
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd NFC South
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs; (at Cardinals) 24–30
Pro Bowlers	RB Michael Turner ; WR Roddy White
	← 2007; Falcons seasons; 2009 →;

The 2008 Atlanta Falcons season was the 43rd season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Overcoming a disappointing 4–12 record, quarterback Michael Vick's dog fighting scandal and head coach Bobby Petrino's abrupt resignation in 2007, the Falcons, who were expected to be in a rebuilding phase,^[1] completed the regular season with a surprising 11–5 record and earned the #5 seed in the NFC playoffs under first-year head coach Mike Smith; however, the team fell to the eventual NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in the wild-card round of the playoffs.^[2]

Mike Smith was named 2008 NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Matt Ryan earned the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

^ "Falcons preview: Beginning massive rebuilding project". Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
^ Weintraub, Robert (December 31, 2008). "The Falcons and Dolphins prove that the Detroit Lions can turn things around". Slate Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2022.

[1] "Falcons preview: Beginning massive rebuilding project". Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.

[2] Weintraub, Robert (December 31, 2008). "The Falcons and Dolphins prove that the Detroit Lions can turn things around". Slate Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2022.

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