We are now just over three months until the Atlanta Falcons kick off the 2020 NFL season.
The Atlanta Falcons hope to find their “election year” magic in 2020 after back to back underperforming campaigns. The NFC South will once again match up with the NFC North for the third time since 2010. The last full division matchup up occurred in 2017 and saw the Atlanta Falcons have a 3-1 record in the divisional matchup. Since the 2017 season ended, the Falcons have been 0-2 since against NFC North opponents.
Since the 2010 season, the Atlanta Falcons possess a 9-12 record overall against teams from the NFC North. In 2014 alone, the Atlanta Falcons dropped all four matchups, including losing a 21-0 halftime lead in London against the Detroit Lions. The Lions went on to win the game 22-21.
So what does 2020 have in store for the Atlanta Falcons?
Chicago Bears – Week 3
Record since 2010: (1-2)
Key losses: Prince Amukamara, Taylor Gabriel, Trey Burton, Leonard Floyd
Key additions: Nick Foles, Jimmy Graham, Robert Quinn
Last matchup: Week 1 2017: Falcons – 23 Bears – 17
The Chicago Bears ended 2019 with a record of 8-8 and third in the NFC North. Their 2019 campaign was marred by poor quarterback play from Mitch Trubisky that prompted the team to trade for Nick Foles and his costly salary from Jacksonville. While it is rather up in the air who will be starting in Week 4 when the Bears come to Atlanta to take on the Falcons, the uncertainty may be an advantage for the Falcons this early into the season.
It is very likely that Foles ends up as the starter, however, in an offseason unlike any other, teams with high continuity will see the most benefits. Even though Foles is familiar with the style of offense run in Chicago, due to head coach Matt Nagy and Foles working together in Kansas City before Nagy left for Chicago, he still has to build chemistry amongst the players and as a perceived back up right now, this could be a difficult task and one that could divide the locker room.
Record since 2010: (4-5)
Key losses: Jimmy Graham
Key additions: Devin Funchess
Last matchup: Week 13, 2018: Packers – 34 Falcons – 20
The past decade has been a very mixed bag of success against the Green Bay Packers. The 2017 NFC Championship game will go down as one of the greatest games all-time in Atlanta Falcons history. While it did send the Atlanta Falcons to their second-ever Super Bowl, it also signified the end of the Georgia Dome, which was to be demolished that same year.
That success is also countered by massive defeat. After having the third greatest season in Atlanta Falcons history, the 13-3 Falcons hosted the sixth-seeded Green Bay Packers in the divisional round and the Packers rolled to a monstrous 48-21 defeat.
Nonetheless, the 2020 packers will be coming off a very successful 2019 season with a 13-3 record. However, that 13-3 record they achieved in 2019 is not indicative of how good of a team they were.
Before the season, the Packers were slated to be an eight or 10 win team. While the team did look good on several occasions, their performances against Detroit, Washington, Philadelphia, and Chicago left much to be desired. Their performances in both games against San Francisco showed just how far from the top they truly were.
The biggest concern with the Falcons lining up against the Packers is the timing in which they play. It’s much easier to play in Green Bay at 1pm eastern in early September than 8:15 pm eastern in late December. When the two teams face off in Week 4 on Sunday night, the weather will be of no issue.
Record since 2010: (1-4)
Key losses: Stefon Diggs, Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes
Key additions: Michael Pierce
Last matchup: Week 1, 2019: Vikings – 28 Falcons – 12
History is definitely not on the Falcons side when up against the Vikings. Since 1966, the Atlanta Falcons have only managed 11 wins against the Vikings, the last win occurred in 2011 with a 24-14 victory in the Georgia Dome. However, the Vikings have never managed a five-game winning streak against the Falcons, so while the Falcons have had a very rough history against the Vikings, they are due for a win.
In 2019, the Falcons were gashed on the ground by the would-be 10-6 Vikings as the Falcons let up nearly 200 yards on the ground. The poor rush defense seemed to be a headline grabber throughout the entire first half of the season. I don’t expect this same type of success in 2020 as the Vikings have shown that they are unable to replicate the success of the previous season. In this century alone, the Vikings have only managed back to back playoff seasons once (2008/2009).
The Vikings will also be without their top offensive weapon in Stefon Diggs and will be without two heavy hitters on defense in Xavier Rhodes and Everson Griffen. The addition of Michael Pierce may help soften the loss of Griffen.
Record since 2010: (3-1)
Key losses: Damon Harrison, Darius Slay,
Key additions: Desmond Trufant, Jamie Collins, Chase Daniels
Last matchup: Week 3, 2017 – Falcons – 30 Lions – 26
The history between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions is a tale of two halves. The recent success against the Lions has really done a great job at masking the long losing streaks against Detroit before the turn of the millennium. Prior to the 2000 season, the Falcons boasted a poor 7-20 record against the Lions. The first victory against Detroit didn’t come until the 10th matchup, 11 years after the inception of the Atlanta Falcons.
At first glance, the 3-12-1 record for Detroit would be grounds to assume an easy victory in 2020. However, this team faltered hard after the loss of franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford midway through the season. Poor officiating and blown leads prevented the Lions from sitting at 6-2 before Stafford ended his season short.
Poor officiating also cost the Lions a win against Atlanta in 2017. After the officials incorrectly called a touchdown on the field with under 10 seconds left in the game, they were required by rule to run off the remaining time on the clock after the review because the Lions had no more timeouts, putting the Lions one yard short from victory.