1975 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1975 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's tenth year in the National Football League (NFL). With the first overall pick of the NFL draft, the Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkowski out of the University of California. However, the pick would do them no good as the Falcons slumped to another miserable 4–10 record and missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season. This was also the first and only full season for head coach Marion Campbell until the 1980s, as he was hired to coach the final 6 games of the previous season and was fired 5 games into the following season.

1975 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
General manager	Pat Peppler
Head coach	Marion Campbell
Home stadium	Atlanta Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1974 Falcons seasons 1976 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1975 NFL draft

1975 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Steve Bartkowski *	Quarterback	California	from Baltimore Colts
2	29	Ralph Ortega	Linebacker	Florida
3	65	Woody Thompson	Running back	Miami (FL)	from Houston Oilers
4	81	John Nessel	Guard	Penn State
5	123	Greg McCrary	Tight end	Clark Atlanta University	from Buffalo Bills
6	132	Fulton Kuykendall	Linebacker	UCLA	from Baltimore Colts
6	133	Doug Payton	Offensive tackle	Colorado
7	159	Mike Esposito	Running back	Boston College
8	185	Brent Adams	Offensive tackle	Chattanooga
9	211	Brad Davis	Running back	LSU
10	237	Marshall Mills	Wide receiver	West Virginia
11	263	Jeff Merrow	Defensive end	West Virginia
12	289	Alonza Pickett	Tackle	Texas Southern
13	315	Carl Russ	Linebacker	Michigan
14	341	Steve Robinson	Defensive tackle	Tuskegee	from Baltimore Colts
15	367	Jimmy Robinson	Wide receiver	Georgia Tech
16	393	Steve Knutson	Tackle	USC
17	419	Mitch Anderson	Quarterback	Northwestern
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1][2]

Personnel

Staff

1975 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Frank E. Wall General manager – Pat Peppler Head coaches Head coach – Marion Campbell Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Bill Nelsen Offensive backfield – John Rauch Receivers – Jimmy Orr Offensive line – Bill Walsh

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Fred Bruney Defensive line – Eddie Khayat Linebackers – Marv Matuszak Defensive backfield – Al Lavan

Roster

1975 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Steve Bartkowski 11 Kim McQuilken  7 Pat Sullivan Running backs (RB) 25 Larry Crowe 46 Monroe Eley 43 Dave Hampton 42 Mack Herron 24 Haskel Stanback 48 Woody Thompson Wide receivers (WR) 82 Ken Burrow 89 Wallace Francis 84 Alfred Jenkins 81 Frank Pitts Tight ends (TE) 88 Greg McCrary 86 Jim Mitchell

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Brent Adams T 63 Nick Bebout T 65 Len Gotshalk T 56 Dennis Havig G 68 Larron Jackson G 53 Paul Ryczek C 64 Royce Smith G 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen (DL) 78 Roy Hilton DE 69 Mike Lewis DT 75 Jeff Merrow DE 74 Mike Tilleman DT 79 Chuck Walker DE/DT 71 John Zook DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 Greg Brezina OLB 58 Don Hansen OLB 54 Fulton Kuykendall OLB 60 Tommy Nobis MLB 55 Ralph Ortega MLB 59 Carl Russ OLB Defensive backs (DB) 34 Ray Brown FS 38 Rick Byas CB 32 Ray Easterling SS 27 Tom Hayes CB 40 Bob Jones CB/S 22 Rolland Lawrence CB Special teams (ST)  6 John James P 12 Nick Mike-Mayer K

Reserve 47 Brad Davis RB (IR) 26 Mike Esposito RB (IR) 66 Ted Fritsch C (IR) 87 Claude Humphrey DE (IR) 20 Vince Kendrick RB (IR) -- Steve Knutson T (IR) 29 Ron Mabra CB (IR) 83 Larry Mialik TE (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 21	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 20–23	0–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	42,172	Recap
2	September 28	Detroit Lions	L 14–17	0–2	Atlanta Stadium	45,218	Recap
3	October 5	New Orleans Saints	W 14–7	1–2	Atlanta Stadium	29,444	Recap
4	October 12	at San Francisco 49ers	W 17–3	2–2	Candlestick Park	44,043	Recap
5	October 19	at Los Angeles Rams	L 7–22	2–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	64,843	Recap
6	October 26	Cincinnati Bengals	L 14–21	2–4	Atlanta Stadium	45,811	Recap
7	November 2	at New Orleans Saints	L 7–23	2–5	Louisiana Superdome	49,342	Recap
8	November 9	at Minnesota Vikings	L 0–38	2–6	Metropolitan Stadium	43,751	Recap
9	November 16	Los Angeles Rams	L 7–16	2–7	Atlanta Stadium	44,595	Recap
10	November 23	Denver Broncos	W 35–21	3–7	Atlanta Stadium	28,686	Recap
11	November 30	at Oakland Raiders	L 34–37 (OT)	3–8	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,860	Recap
12	December 7	Washington Redskins	L 27–30	3–9	Atlanta Stadium	52,809	Recap
13	December 14	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–9	4–9	Atlanta Stadium	38,501	Recap
14	December 21	at Green Bay Packers	L 13–22	4–10	Lambeau Field	56,267	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at St. Louis Cardinals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	6	7	0	20
Cardinals	7	6	0	10	23

Game information

First quarter STL – Terry Metcalf 39-yard run (Jim Bakken kick). Cardinals 7–0. ATL – Steve Bartkowski 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Tied 7–7. Second quarter STL – Jim Bakken 22-yard field goal. Cardinals 10–7. ATL – Dave Hampton 6-yard run (kick failed). Falcons 13–10. STL – Jim Bakken 39-yard field goal. Tied 13–13. Third quarter ATL – Dave Hampton 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 20–13. Fourth quarter STL – Earl Thomas 8-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick). Tied 20–20. STL – Jim Bakken 25-yard field goal. Cardinals 23–20. Top passers ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 8/16, 81 yards, INT STL – Jim Hart – 12/23, 150 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers ATL – Dave Hampton – 23 rushes, 135 yards, 2 TD STL – Terry Metcalf – 20 rushes, 99 yards, TD Top receivers ATL – Woody Thompson – 3 receptions, 29 yards STL – Mel Gray – 3 receptions, 65 yards

Week 1: Atlanta Falcons at St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary

at Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

• Date: September 21
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 42,172
• Box score

Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	7	3	7	17
Falcons	0	7	7	0	14

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter ATL – Haskel Stanback 17-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 7–0. DET – Horace King 5-yard run (Errol Mann kick). Tied 7–7. Third quarter ATL – Gerald Tinker 26-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 14–7. DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Falcons 14–10. Fourth quarter DET – Altie Taylor 1-yard run (Errol Mann kick). Lions 17–14. Top passers DET – Greg Landry – 12/21, 146 yards ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 7/22, 104 yards, TD, INT Top rushers DET – Altie Taylor – 16 rushes, 63 yards, TD ATL – Dave Hampton – 21 rushes, 86 yards Top receivers DET – Ray Jarvis – 5 receptions, 64 yards ATL – Ken Burrow – 3 receptions, 43 yards

Week 2: Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: September 28
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C)
• Game attendance: 45,218
• Box score

Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	0	7	0	7
Falcons	7	7	0	0	14

Game information

First quarter ATL – Ken Burrow 9-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 7–0. Second quarter ATL – Jim Mitchell 50-yard fumble return (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 14–0. Third quarter NO – Alvin Maxson 1-yard run (Bill McClard kick). Falcons 14–7. Fourth quarter No scoring plays Top passers NO – Archie Manning – 15/31, 146 yards, 2 INT ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 11/23, 119 yards, TD, INT Top rushers NO – Mike Strachan – 14 rushes, 71 yards ATL – Dave Hampton – 25 rushes, 101 yards Top receivers NO – Alvin Maxson – 11 receptions, 71 yards ATL – Jim Mitchell – 3 receptions, 65 yards

Week 3: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: October 5
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 29,444
• Box score

Week 4: at San Francisco 49ers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	7	7	3	0	17
49ers	0	0	3	0	3

Game information

First quarter ATL – Jim Mitchell 9-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 7–0. Second quarter ATL – Haskel Stanback 26-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Falcons 14–0. Third quarter SF – Steve Mike-Mayer 26-yard field goal. Falcons 14–3. ATL – Nick Mike-Mayer 27-yard field goal. Falcons 17–3. Fourth quarter No scoring plays Top passers ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 9/20, 96 yards, TD SF – Norm Snead – 16/28, 196 yards, 4 INT Top rushers ATL – Haskel Stanback – 6 rushes, 40 yards, TD SF – Larry Schreiber – 13 rushes, 54 yards Top receivers ATL – Ken Burrow – 2 receptions, 35 yards SF – Gene Washington – 5 receptions, 66 yards

Week 4: Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

• Date: October 12
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 44,043
• Box score

Week 5: at Los Angeles Rams

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	7	7
Rams	10	6	6	0	22

Week 5: Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

• Date: October 19
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 64,843

Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	14	0	7	21
Falcons	7	0	0	7	14

Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: October 26
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 45,811

Week 7: at New Orleans Saints

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	7	7
Saints	0	10	10	3	23

Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Game summary

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: November 2
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: None (played indoors)
• Game attendance: 49,342

Week 8: at Minnesota Vikings

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	0	0
Vikings	7	17	7	7	38

Game information

First quarter MIN – Chuck Foreman 3-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 7–0. Second quarter MIN – Fred Cox 45-yard field goal. Vikings 10–0. MIN – Chuck Foreman 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 17–0. MIN – Chuck Foreman 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 24–0. Third quarter MIN – Jim Lash 12-yard pass from Bob Lee (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 31–0. Fourth quarter MIN – Dave Osborn 2-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 38–0. Top passers ATL – Kim McQuilken – 5/26, 43 yards, 5 INT MIN – Fran Tarkenton – 11/22, 47 yards, TD Top rushers ATL – Dave Hampton – 9 rushes, 39 yards MIN – Chuck Foreman – 26 rushes, 102 yards, 2 TD Top receivers ATL – Dave Hampton – 1 reception, 15 yards MIN – Chuck Foreman – 4 receptions, 19 yards, TD

Week 8: Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

• Date: November 9
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C)
• Game attendance: 43,751
• Box score

Kim McQuilken started at quarterback for the Falcons, going 5 of 26 (for a completion percentage of 19.2) for 43 yards and threw five interceptions, finishing the game with a passer rating of zero.^[3]

Week 9: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	6	3	7	16
Falcons	0	0	0	7	7

Week 9: Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: November 16
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C)
• Game attendance: 44,595

Week 10: vs. Denver Broncos

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	0	7	7	21
Falcons	0	14	7	14	35

Week 10: Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: November 23
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C)
• Game attendance: 28,686

Week 11: at Oakland Raiders

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Falcons	13	7	0	14	0	34
Raiders	21	0	3	10	3	37

Week 11: Atlanta Falcons at Oakland Raiders – Game summary

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

• Date: November 30
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C)
• Game attendance: 50,860

Week 12: vs. Washington Redskins

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	3	7	7	13	30
Falcons	0	14	3	10	27

Week 12: Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: December 7
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 52,809

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	9	0	0	9
Falcons	0	10	14	7	31

Week 13: San Francisco 49ers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: December 14
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 38,501

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	6	0	0	7	13
Packers	3	9	10	0	22

Game information

First quarter GB – Joe Danelo 34-yard field goal. Packers 3–0. ATL – Dave Hampton 1-yard run (kick failed). Falcons 6–3. Second quarter GB – Eric Torkelson 15-yard run (kick failed). Packers 9–6. GB – Joe Danelo 30-yard field goal. Packers 12–6. Third quarter GB – Joe Danelo 19-yard field goal. Packers 15–6. GB – Barty Smith 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Packers 22–6. Fourth quarter ATL – Alfred Jenkins 52-yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Packers 22–13. Top passers ATL – Steve Bartkowski – 13/34, 219 yards, TD, 2 INT GB – John Hadl – 16/32, 181 yards, INT Top rushers ATL – Dave Hampton – 14 rushes, 61 yards, TD GB – Eric Torkelson – 22 rushes, 86 yards, TD Top receivers ATL – Alfred Jenkins – 2 receptions, 81 yards, TD GB – Rich McGeorge – 3 receptions, 46 yards

Week 14: Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers – Game summary

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: December 21
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: 10 °F (−12 °C)
• Game attendance: 56,267
• Box score

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams(2)	12	2	0	.857	5–1	9–2	312	135	W6
San Francisco 49ers	5	9	0	.357	3–3	4–7	255	286	L4
Atlanta Falcons	4	10	0	.286	3–3	3–8	240	289	L1
New Orleans Saints	2	12	0	.143	1–5	2–9	165	360	L7

^[4]