Which is the best Falcons throwback jersey?

I think every NFL fan, Falcons’ fans included, can agree the new uniforms unveiled last year weren’t the best of the seven teams who went into 2020 with a new look. In my opinion, the Chargers’ new look was not only the best looking out of the seven but one of the best looking in the league.

Atlanta’s jersey change wasn’t drastic. The logo was the same but larger on the helmet. The red pants were brought back. The one dumpster fire of a decision was to roll out the red-to-black gradient jersey, which I hope is universally hated.

All pictures are courteous of GUD’s graphic engineer, Bill Schaefer

1970 was the merger season and saw the Falcons jersey – required by the NFL for the first time – feature the players’ names on the backs of the jersey in solid black lettering on the white jerseys and solid white on the black jerseys.

The following year, the black jerseys were out in favor of the red jerseys. All the red trim that had been on the black jersey becomes black on the red shirts. The socks went from a majority of black to red. The whole look would last through 1977. This is one of my favorite looks from the throwbacks. Although, it wouldn’t be the first major change.

The biggest change thus far was in 1978. The helmet was essentially the same with a smaller logo, but they introduced silver. That became part of the facemask, jersey stripes, numbers, and pants. If you look closely, the V-neck jersey was the first of its kind and a personal favorite of mine. The stripes become equal on the sleeves while they disappear on the socks.

This is by far my favorite uniform change and there’s not a close second. The red jerseys are gone for the first time in 20 years. Everywhere there’s more black; black socks, helmets, and jerseys.

It was the first black helmet in team history. With the help of Andre Rison and Deion Sanders, the Falcons were becoming electric. By 1991, the team was so popular that M.C. Hammer showed up on the sidelines.

I truly believe these uniforms look better than the current ones. The 2020 jerseys had hints from this era, but these aren’t my favorite throwbacks because the Falcons discovered fire when they decided to mesh this throwback with the matte finish on the helmets.