Ten Questions for the Atlanta Falcons: Can the Team Win on the Road?

As the Atlanta Falcons try to break their playoff drought, one of the important factors will be their performance in away games. The team suffered 7 of their ten losses on the road last season and will need to avoid a similar fate if they want to contend and potentially save head coach Arthur Smith’s job in the off-season.

The team will head to Detroit to play the Lions, to London to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers, Nashville to play the Tennessee Titans, Glendale to face the Arizona Cardinals, East Rutherford to play the New York Jets, Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers, Chicago to face the Bears, and then end their season in New Orleans against the Saints.

Out of those matchups, Detroit, Jacksonville, and the matchup against the Jets could prove to be the biggest tests for Atlanta. Detroit has already announced they’ve sold out their slate of home games this season, and they’re an up-and-coming team that many people predict will make the playoffs once the regular season ends.

The team’s have traded results the last five times they’ve played, but the Falcons are on a three-game winning streak in Detroit currently. The stadium will be loud, and Atlanta will need to stay focused if they hope to shut down a potent Lion’s offense.

Atlanta will be in for a tough matchup when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that doesn’t even take into consideration that the game will take place in a completely different continent. This will be the third time the Falcons head overseas, and they actually won their last matchup in London during the 2021 season.

Trevor Lawrence is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league, but it’s likely the overseas travel will affect both teams so “home-field” advantage might be minimal for the Jaguars. The biggest factor will be preparation, ensuring the players are resting well throughout the trip, and staying focused in the days leading up to the game. It’d likely be viewed as a slight upset if the Falcons won this matchup, but it seems plausible that they could pull it off.

Aaron Rodgers is officially a New York Jet and unless their season collapses before their matchup with Atlanta, I’d expect MetLife Stadium to be a packed and loud environment. Jets’ fans have been waiting a long time for a season with this high of expectations, and they’ll likely fill the stadium if they’re in playoff contention when this matchup arrives.

Rodgers is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league and with this crowd behind him, it may be hard for the team to pull off a win here. Desmond Ridder will need to be on his best, and the defense will need to be prepared for everything and anything to be thrown at them. We’d be at the point in the season where if the Falcons were to win this matchup and be in playoff contention, they may start to be considered real contenders.

Not to completely ignore the other games on their matchups, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see a lackluster crowd in Glendale as the Cardinals expected to struggle, and a similar expectation could be held for Tampa unless they shock everyone this season with new QB1 Baker Mayfield.

The Titans and Bears could be tough matchups, but those teams seem closer to the Falcons level than the three highlighted above. If the Falcons hope to finally give their fans a reason to cheer, they’ll need to pull off these types of matchups and show both fans and other teams in the league that they can pull off the close games on the road.