The Atlanta Falcons could be part of history, being a part of an inaugural game in a brand new city for the NFL. As the league has been attempting to expand their audience, this has meant teams traveling internationally to play in front of a brand new set of eyes.
In December 2024, the NFL announced it would bring the first regular season game to Berlin, Germany. Berlin's Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion), which hosted the 1963 Summer Olympics and multiple FIFA World Cup matches, is set to host the game. The NFL has also hosted exhibition games between 1990-1994.
Although a date has not been decided, the "Home" team has been. In January 2025, the Indianapolis Colts were chosen as the designated team to play in Berlin. As the "Home" team, they must play somebody on their schedule designated as the "Away" team. Enter the Atlanta Falcons. Let's take a look at who the Indianapolis Colts are scheduled to play at home on their 2025 schedule:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. Houston Texans
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Denver Broncos
6. Las Vegas Raiders
7. Arizona Cardinals
8. San Francisco 49ers
9. Miami Dolphins
Let's narrow this list down. While it's not unheard of for a divisional game to happen internationally, there are very few. Since these hold more weight, it holds a slight disadvantage to the "Home" team since they are now at a neutral site. Because of this, we can scratch the divisional teams off (Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars).
Additionally, the Miami Dolphins are already slated for an international game in Madrid, and the Las Vegas Raiders have already played in 5 total games internationally, one of the highest in the NFL. This leaves the Falcons as one of 4 teams left by this arbitrary elimination system.
The biggest reason the Atlanta Falcons are the most enticing option for the NFL to send to Berlin is the massive fanbase of Falcons' Fans that occupy Germany. They even have their own version of Freddie the Falcon called "Fritz Falcon". The International Fan of the Year was also a Falcon fan from Germany named Alexandros Swoch, who announced the 109th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and referenced the Atlanta Falcons German Fan Club.
There are 10 teams in the NFL that have marketing rights in Germany, and two of them are the Indianapolis Colts and the Atlanta Falcons. Nobody else on the Colts' Home schedule has marketing rights in Germany, making this matchup enticing for German football fans. This idea was mentioned by D. Orlando Ledbetter in a tweet.
If the Atlanta Falcons are chosen as the "Away" team, they would make history as a part of the inaugural regular season NFL game in Berlin. Hopefully they can improve upon their 1-2 international game record.