The Atlanta Falcons have had an exciting history of great players like Deion Sanders, Michael Vick, and Matt Ryan. What they do not have is a history of winning. The Falcons were born in 1966 and they are currently one of 12 teams without a Super Bowl victory.

Atlanta has appeared in two Super Bowls and should definitely have one win, we will get to that a little later. Atlanta is a confusing team. They are loaded with talent but have gone just 7-9 in each of the last two years. A big reason is that Dan Quinn is still the coach.

Since 1966, the Falcons have won 10 playoff games. Many of them came from these three teams. Here are the top three teams in franchise history.

3. 2012

The 2012 season marked the third in four years where the Falcons won double-digit games and made the playoffs. Atlanta also won a playoff game that year for the first time since 2004. It was a 30-28 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round.

The Falcons won the first eight games of the season under head coach Mike Smith. Atlanta finished with a 13-3 record and at the top of the NFC South. The season ended earlier than fans would have liked when the Falcons lost a classic 28-24 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

2. 2016

This was a team of destiny. The Falcons led the league with 33.8 points per game. Matt Ryan won the league's MVP award after throwing for 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. The team finished 11-5 and at the top of the NFC South. Atlanta entered the postseason winning their final four games.

The Falcons were rolling early in the postseason. They began with blowouts of the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. Atlanta outscored their opponents 80-41 in those two games. All was well early on in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. The Falcons held a 28-3 lead before allowing the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. This was also the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

The 2016 season will bring back nothing but horrible feelings for Falcons' fans all over the country, but they still have to be recognized as one of the best teams in franchise history.

1. 1998

The 1998 Falcons lost their second game in Week 8 of the season. They would go on to win the final nine games on their schedule and set a franchise record with a 14-2 campaign. Atlanta scored less than 20 points just three times. They went over 30 points seven times. Chris Chandler threw 25 touchdowns while Jamal Anderson dominated the ground game with 1,846 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Atlanta was challenged in the playoffs. They won their first two playoff games by a combined five points and needed overtime to defeat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game. The Falcons ran into the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl and scored just 19 points.

This was the Falcons' first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. The offense averaged 27.7 points while the defense allowed just 18 per game.

Even though this team did not win a championship, they set a tone that was unmatched for many years in Atlanta.