The Atlanta Falcons are coming off the fourth straight winning season for the first time in franchise history, and 2011 was a year to remember for a lot of different reasons. AtlantaFalcons.com takes a look back at the season that was and all the big moments of the 2011 season with the season’s best games, plays, performances, storylines, quotes, photos and more.

5) Week 2 vs Philadelphia, 35-31 win: After a tough season-opening loss to the Bears, the Falcons bounced back in Week 2 to get a much-needed win against the high-profile and talented Eagles. Atlanta controlled the ball game for much of the day, finding a 21-10 lead in the third quarter before a bad stretch put the Eagles in the driver’s seat. Entering the fourth quarter, Philly had a 31-21 lead. Despite facing pressure from the Eagles’ pass rush all day and suffering four sacks, Ryan engineered one of Atlanta’s best drives of the season in crunch time. Taking more than six minutes off the clock, Ryan and the Falcons traveled 80 yards to score and draw within three points. After a defensive stop, the Ryan and the offense repeated their performance, and scored again, carried by a 61-yard Turner run.

A key stop on third down for the defense kept the Eagles from responding and the Falcons hung on for their first win of the 2011 season. Although Atlanta struggled at times, blowing a double-digit lead, they stayed composed and weathered the game’s tough moments. Head coach Mike Smith praised his team for their solidarity and ability to put bad plays behind them on the way to a win: “That was one of our musts: we had to play it one play at a time. When that play was over, we had to move on and try to learn from it. That was the way that we tried to approach this game. Offensively, defensively, special teams, together we won this football game.”

4) Week 9 vs Indianapolis, 31-7 win: Coming out of their bye week and facing a winless team can be challenging. All week heading into the matchup against the Colts, the Falcons had to answer questions about not wanting to be the team to give a team their first win of the season nine weeks in. Atlanta didn’t waste much time on the road, taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, boosted by two forced turnovers by its defense. The road win was rookie WR Julio Jones’ coming-out party. The receiver exploded for 164 all-purpose yards with just five touches and added two touchdowns.

The win gave Atlanta a three-game winning streak as it prepared for three straight games back in the Georgia Dome. The Falcons went 2-1 in that stretch, aided by the loud, home-town crowd. After the Colts win, C Todd McClure said he knew the Falcons fans would be helpful during their run: “It’s definitely a big stretch coming up. Hopefully our fans will show up and our crowd will be ready to go for the next three weeks. It’ll be nice to get on a little run right here and get hot.”

3) Week 7 vs Detroit, 23-16 win: The Falcons improved to 4-3 on the season after a tough road win in Detroit. Facing a Lions offense that entered the game averaging almost 30 points a game, Atlanta’s defense quietened the Lions’ offense, limiting them to only one third-down conversion in the entire game. The Falcons found the momentum they needed in a tight first half when QB Matt Ryan hit WR Roddy White for an 18-yard touchdown with 30 seconds remaining to take a 17-6 lead.

The Falcons used the game to make it back-to-back wins heading into their bye week. The win combined with the bye served them well as they went 5-2 coming out of the break, a stretch they felt good about after the Lions win. S Thomas DeCoud said heading into the bye that a confidence boost would pay dividends down the line:  ”Being able to build momentum in a week where we can get healthy is huge. It’s always good to into that week with a ‘W’ so we can get that momentum built; there’s not anything that can slow us down.”

2) Week 15 vs Jacksonville, 41-14 win: All season long, the Falcons struggled to find consistency and put together what they called a complete game. Against Jacksonville, that kind of game showed up, showcasing what the Falcons are capable of when they’re clicking on all cylinders. The first half featured a tough Atlanta defense that matched the offense in big plays. The 27-0 halftime lead was built by an efficient Falcons offense and a defense that contributed turnovers and received 3.5 sacks from DE John Abraham.

Into the third quarter, Atlanta built a 41-0 lead, before two late Jacksonville touchdowns took the shut out away. The Falcons limited Jacksonville to 91 yards passing and the game stood as a statement game for the franchise. Abraham said the culture in Atlanta is now one of winning and games like the win over the Jaguars showed what the Falcons can do when they put it all together: “Whether we win or lose, we know we’re a team that can win and we’ve shown that. We’ve averaged 11 wins a year as long as Mike Smith’s been here. We know we’re a winning squad and we know have a team that can win at all costs.”

1) Week 17 vs. Tampa, 45-24 win: The Falcons closed out the 2011 season at home in big fashion. Facing the NFC South-rival Bucs with franchise records and playoff seeding on the line, Atlanta went out in the first half and posted a 42-0 shutout in the first half. After the first-half fireworks, numerous new Falcons records exchanged hands to members of the 2011 Falcons roster, a No. 5 seed was wrapped up and the second-half was reserved for mostly backups to finish up the game. Running back Michael Turner’s 172 yards on 17 rushes led the way and his 81-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the highlight of the day.

After a few weeks of games with less production than its used to, the Falcons running game found a new gear. Turner said after the game he and his offensive line wanted to come out running strong in the season finale: “That was the talk all week between the O-line and myself, to get some production out of the run game. We’d been lagging a little bit. We’ve been winning some games still, but that’s not how we want to play and not how we want to produce out there or how we want to look on film. We made it a point, since it’s our last game, to get a little tune-up before the playoffs and go out there and do something.”