The future of the Atlanta Falcons squarely falls upon the success or failure of this upcoming season. And with Thursday night's release of the 2020 NFL schedule, the road to redemption becomes clear for head coach Dan Quinn & general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
While owner Arthur Blank hasn't expressed it outwardly, the assumption remains that anything short of a playoff appearance could spell doom for the former head of the Legion of Boom and the Falcons' front office. The 6-2 finish after the bye week, combined with savvy offseason moves leave the Falcons bullish on a bounce back to relevance in a very crowded NFC South.
The Falcons' road to a postseason return rests in four major dividers of this season's schedule:
Part I: The Rough BeginningWeek 1: vs. SeahawksWeek 2: @ CowboysWeek 3: vs. BearsWeek 4: @ Green Bay (Monday Night Football)
The opening portion of the schedule gets the Falcons familiar with their cross-divisional matchups this season with the NFC North and a familiar face. The Falcons start out with a chance to avenge last year's loss to Seattle in the same venue where last year's 27-20 loss occurred. While that loss was the last bitter pill toward a 1-7 record at the bye, many on the team and staff pointed to the second half of that game as the beginning of the Falcons' turnaround, scoring 20 points after halftime. They also end a stretch of three straight years opening away from home, and will start their season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time since the building's construction. Matt Ryan is 5-5 all time against Aaron Rodgers' Green Bay Packers, but only one of those wins came at Lambeau field, a 27-24 victory in Ryan's rookie year of 2008. The Falcons also visit Jerry World for the first time since 2015, a 39-28 win where Julio Jones caught 12 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Anything .500 and above with this stretch puts Atlanta in good shape.
Part II: Getting Healthy Before the ByeWeek 5: vs. PanthersWeek 6: @ VikingsWeek 7: vs. LionsWeek 8: @ Panthers (Thursday Night Football)Week 9: vs. Broncos
The five weeks before the Week 10 bye represent the most palatable portion of the 2020 slate. Two games against a rebuilding Panthers team the Falcons swept a year ago should be games Atlanta expects to win. Despite the tricky nature of playing in Charlotte on Thursday night, the reward is extra time to prepare for an unfamiliar opponent in the Broncos. Denver also finds themselves in the midst of a rebuild, with quarterback Drew Lock having only five games of NFL experience coming into this season. Atlanta also catches a break with the Broncos tilt, as that game had been widely reported to be the game the Falcons would have played in London. The COVID-19 pandemic put the NFL's international slate on hold, so the teams get a reprieve. The Falcons get another 2019 redux as they head to Minnesota for the second straight year, after suffering a 28-12 opening-day loss a year ago. Matt Ryan is 4-1 against the Lions team he opened his career against, the lone loss coming in 2014. The visit to the Vikings is the toughest trip for Dirty Birds, but a win in Minnesota combined with a better-than-average record against the other three teams could leave Atlanta with some high expectations after the open date.
Part III: The Aint's & The WestWeek 11: @ SaintsWeek 12: vs. RaidersWeek 13: vs. SaintsWeek 14: @ Chargers (4:25 ET)For the second year in a row, the Falcons get the benefit of the bye to prepare for their annual trip to the Bayou. Atlanta shocked many in that contest with a 26-9 victory with a group that looked nothing like the team that played the first eight weeks. They hope to have a better follow-up than last year, as the return engagement provided a 26-18 loss on Thanksgiving made only close after Younghoe Koo's two successful onside kick attempts. The Falcons play the Chargers & Raiders for the first time since each franchise moved, and will make their first visit to the new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in Week 14. The last time they played either team was the NFC Championship year of 2016, where the Falcons won what would be their final game in Oakland, 35-28, and suffered a 33-30 overtime loss to the Chargers at the Georgia Dome. Another split with this foursome is imperative with the final stretch ahead.
Part IV: Brady & the ChampsWeek 15: vs. BuccaneersWeek 16: @ ChiefsWeek 17: @ BuccaneersTom Brady returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time since winning Super Bowl LIII over the Rams when the Falcons host the new-look Buccaneers in their final regular season game at home. Brady has never lost to the Falcons in six meetings while he was a member of the Patriots, including the game Atlanta fans don't want to talk about. If we didn't get to see it against New Orleans, this threesome of games will be the stiffest test for the Falcons' revamped pass rush, facing the best quarterback of this generation & last year's Super Bowl winner. While playing the defending champions at one of the toughest buildings in the league is a daunting task, Matt Ryan has a victory in his only appearance there, a 40-24 triumph to open the 2012 season. Expecting one win out of these three games is a tall task, but it could be the win that sends the Falcons to the postseason. Also, any of these three games could be flex-schedule candidate, as Atlanta does not currently have a game scheduled for Sunday Night Football.
The schedule looks unforgiving in spots, tenable in others, but nevertheless, the 2020 Falcons schedule has a bevy of intrigue.
