Falcons under investigation for piping artificial crowd noise in Georgia Dome

The Atlanta Falcons are under investigation by the NFL for piping artificial crowd noise into the Georgia Dome for the past two seasons, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

"Atlanta is accused of piping in the noise while the opposing team was huddling, trying to call its play," Schefter writes. "The tactics originated from the Falcons' game operations department."

If the accusations prove true, the Falcons could be fined and lose a draft pick, Schefter reports.

"We were informed during the season that the league office is looking into crowd noise during our games," a team spokesman told Schefter. "We have cooperated fully with them, and we're awaiting the outcome." 

Its unclear how much of an advantage this gave the Falcons, as the team has posted a combined home record of 6-10 over the past two seasons. However, as Schefter notes, it was significant enough to warrant a league investigation.