The series history between Washington and the Falcons
The Washington Football Team and the Atlanta Falcons first met all the way back in 1966, which happened to be Atlanta’s inaugural season in the NFL.
Washington’s coach that season was NFL legend, Otto Graham. Washington won the first meeting, 33-20. The early years of Atlanta’s franchise were tough, as the Falcons dropped their first five meetings to Washington — the second-ever meeting in 1967 ended in a tie.
The tide started to turn for the Falcons in 1978 when they made their first playoff appearance. That’s also the first year Atlanta beat Washington on the gridiron.
Washington won 14 of the first 17 meetings between the two NFC franchises, excluding the tie. Among those victories was a 24-7 win in Jan. 1992 in an NFC Divisional Playoff game. That would also happen to be the year Washington won its last Super Bowl. In the regular season, Washington destroyed the Falcons, 56-17.
The Falcons won a 1994 game against a terrible Washington team quarterbacked by John Friesz and Heath Shuler. The two teams didn’t meet again until 2003 when Washington defeated the Falcons without quarterback Michael Vick.
That would be the last time Washington defeated Atlanta. Since that last win, the Falcons are 6-0 against Washington, with Matt Ryan around for five of those wins.
Atlanta has won three of those meetings by double digits, while one score separated the other three games. The last time these franchises met was in 2018 when the Falcons gave Washington its most lopsided loss of the series, 38-14. Ryan passed for 350 yards and four touchdowns on that day, beating Alex Smith and Washington.
Despite Atlanta’s recent success, Washington holds the edge in the all-time series, 15-10-1.
Can Washington take down the Falcons on Sunday? Ryan will once again be under for Atlanta looking for his sixth win over Washington.
