3. Stacking the Chiefs and Eagles games in the first three weeks
Part of giving the Atlanta Falcons an easy finish means the start of the year has the chance to be brutal. If you have to go on the road to Philly or face Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs why not get it out of the way early? All Atlanta needs to do to feel their season is still ahead of them is find a way to get one.
Starting the season with the Steelers, Chiefs, Eagles, and Saints is as brutal as it gets with a new quarterback and coaching staff. If the Falcons can go 2-2 in this stretch they have every reason to feel they are a playoff team and heading in the right direction.
It is far better to get these games out of the way early and set up the Falcons for a hot finish. There is also the fact that the Saints have taken a step back and the Eagles were bounced from the playoffs by the Bucs. Both games are going to be tough but neither are as difficult as they would have been in years past.
Viewing an early brutal schedule as an asset might be a unique outlook but it is with the understanding of what it sets up later in the year.