2017 Falcons Schedule: Analysis and Predictions
Week 1: @ Chicago Bears, September 10 (1:00 PM EST, FOX) – WIN
Atlanta kicks off the 2017 NFL season by heading to Soldier Field to take on the Bears. Not quite the hallmark matchup to start the season that you’d expect for the reigning NFC champions, but we’ll take it. Atlanta will meet a familiar foe, former Bucs quarterback Mike Glennon.
The Bears have some solid personnel on defense, but they’re still a team in a state of flux. Atlanta opens the season with a win.
Week 2: vs. Green Bay Packers, September 17, Sunday Night Football (8:30 PM EST, NBC) – WIN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium charts her regular season maiden voyage in an NFC Championship Game rematch against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. This will be a raucous affair, with the Packers eager to avenge playoff embarrassment and the Falcons obliged to send them back to Wisconsin toting an early loss.
Rodgers is Rodgers, and Green Bay will be markedly healthier on both sides of the ball since Atlanta last faced them. Jared Cook left town, but former Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett was brought in to fill the void. Receiving tight ends are the bane of Atlanta’s existence, so it will be interesting to see how Deion Jones and De’Vondre Campbell address this new offensive threat in coverage.
This game can conceivably go either way, as most Falcons-Packers affairs of late tend to do. It will come down to the wire, but ultimately the energy in Mercedes-Benz Stadium propels the Atlanta Falcons to a victory in their brand new home.
Week 3: @ Detroit Lions, September 24 (1:00 PM EST, FOX) – WIN
In Week 3 the Falcons roll into Motor City to face the Lions. Detroit squeaked into the playoffs last year, and were immediately bounced out in the Wild Card round in a blowout loss against Seattle. Another team in transition, the Lions are still seeking to replace the receiving production they lost when Calvin Johnson retired.
Matt Stafford and Co. will hang with Atlanta for a couple of quarters, but the Falcons pull away after the half. Mark this down as a win.
Week 4: vs. Buffalo Bills, October 1 (1:00 PM EST, CBS) – WIN
The Falcons head back to Atlanta in their first matchup with an AFC East team, the Buffalo Bills. LeSean McCoy will pose the biggest challenge here, as Atlanta traditionally struggles with running backs with roles in the passing game. Falcons fans have years’ worth of flashbacks from getting gashed by backs via short dump-off passes over the middle.
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor also figures to be a handful. If Atlanta can force him to stay in the pocket and use his arm, they make this dual-threat passer extremely one-dimensional. Airing it out is not Taylor’s forte, so the game plan should focus on keeping him off balance and making the Bills put the crux of the offense on his arm and not his legs.
Atlanta takes another game at home, and cruises into the bye week 4-0.
Week 5: BYE
One of the more controversial aspects of Atlanta’s 2017 schedule is the early bye. A Week 5 bye week is not optimal, as a week off later in the season can work wonders for allowing a team to heal, rejuvenate, and regroup as they head into the season’s final slog.
The Week 11 bye last year was a turning point for a Falcons team that was noticeably flat against Philadelphia the week before.
We’ll have to see how the team adjusts and adapts to the early bye.