The 2012 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League and the fifth under head coach Mike Smith. By beating the Detroit Lions during Week 16, the Falcons clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC for the second time in three years, and made it to the NFC Championship for the first time since 2004, where they were defeated 28–24 by the San Francisco 49ers. __TOC__