Atlanta Falcons Post 2nd-Highest Margin of Victory in Franchise History

With Thursday's 56-14 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Atlanta Falcons recorded their second-highest margin of victory in franchise history, according to Pro Football Reference's play index.

The 42-point win, while impressive, fell 13 shy of the 55-point margin recorded in a 62-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints back in 1973.

The Falcons were actually well positioned to set the record Thursday night, as they entered the fourth quarter with a 56-0 lead, only to surrender 14 points in garbage time.

Despite getting outscored by 14 in the final quarter, the Falcons came awfully close to setting some team records.

In addition to falling 13 shy of the point-differential mark, Atlanta also posted the second-best points total (56) in franchise history, once again coming close to a record (62) set in that ugly 1973 game against the Saints.

Though now in their 49th season of existence, the Falcons have only recorded three 50-point performances in franchise history, with the third coming in a 51-23 win over the Carolina Panthers during the 1998 season, per Pro Football Reference's play index.

The lack of notable blowouts perhaps isn't all that surprising, as the Falcons own a miserable 318-415-6 cumulative record, despite enjoying a good deal of success since the beginning of the 2008 season, when quarterback Matt Ryan came into the league.