The Atlanta Falcons now know (like every other NFL team) who they will be facing this season in a quest for a shot at postseason play, or at least to not end up with a fourth year of a losing record.
ATL Streets Vol. ’24@NFL Schedule Release @NFLNetwork | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/Co46Sbhec8
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 16, 2024
The Dirty Birds do have a lot going for them this upcoming season. The team has shown obvious improvements in offense and defense since the offseason started, bringing in two new quarterbacks (Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr.), welcoming back a recovering Grady Jarrett, and strengthened pass rush and tackling abilities. New head coach Raheem Morris is charting a new course for the team to follow. Plus, the Falcons have one of the easier schedules in the league. And they also don’t need to worry about getting transcontinental plane tickets, as they don’t have any international games this year.
After back-to-back seasons of being relegated to Sundays, the Falcons are finally back in prime time. On ESPN’s Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, An NBC Sunday Night Football showcase against the Kansas City Chiefs, and a key Thursday Night Football contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What the Falcons do with these three high-profile games could change national perceptions the team has garnered thanks to years of underperformance.
As always, the Falcons have two shots against their division opponents, the Bucs, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints. The Falcons face these teams back-to-back-to-back on weeks 4-6, a golden opportunity to seize the top of the NFC South if they ace all three games.
Here is the Atlanta Falcons 2024 schedule. Comment and analysis by SITATL editor/owner Brian Allen.
| Game / Date / Time | Opponent | Comment/Analysis |
| Preseason 1 / Aug 9 / 7pm | Miami Dolphins | Preseason Opener. Dolphins were 11-6 last season. |
| Preseason 2 / Aug 17 / 12 pm | Baltimore Ravens | Tough AFC opponent with a dominating 13-4 record last season. Game doesn’t count, but Falcons performance here could show how much they have improved or if they need more work. |
| Preseason 3 / Aug 23 / 7pm | Jacksonville Jaguars | The Falcons played this team in London last season. Hope this year isn’t the disaster the last game against the Jags was. |
| Week 1 / Sept 8 / 1pm | Pittsburgh Steelers | Home Opener at the Benz and it brings the former head coach (Arthur Smith, now a defensive coach for the Steelers) back to take on his former team. Former Falcons Cordarrelle Patterson, Scotty Miller, and MyCole Pruitt will also be on the opposite side of the Benz this season. Steelers did well last season (10-7) and new additions could make them a challenge to defeat. |
| Week 2 / Sept 16 / 8:15pm | Philadelphia Eagles | Monday Night Football. This is the first MNF game since 2020. The Falcons get to show their improvements to a prime-time national audience, against a perennially tough adversary. |
| Week 3 / Sept 22 / 8:20pm | Kansas City Chiefs | Sunday Night Football. This has the potential to be the biggest ticket seller of all of the Falcons home games, with Patrick Mahommes and Travis Kelce (and maybe even his girlfriend) coming to the Benz. The Falcons will have to be die-hard tough against the defending Super Bowl Champs. |
| Week 4 / Sept 29 / 1pm | New Orleans Saints | Division opponent. And a hated one at that. This is a home game so that’s three reasons why the Falcons need to take care of business here. |
| Week 5 / Oct 3 / 8:15 pm | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Thursday Night Football. Been a long time since the Falcons had a TNF game (got your friend’s Amazon Prime Video password ready?) and it will be against a tough division opponent. Falcons need to win this to gain an edge in the NFC South. |
| Week 6 / Oct 13 / 4:25pm | Carolina Panthers | Division opponent. Not much improvement with the cellar-dwelling Panthers, so could be Falcons’ advantage. |
| Week 7 / Oct 20 / 1pm | Seattle Seahawks | Winable game against 9-8 team. |
| Week 8 / Oct 27 / 1pm | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Key game against a division opponent. Falcons will also need to win this game if they want to top or solidify their probable top spot in the NFC South. |
| Week 9 / Nov 3 / 1pm | Dallas Cowboys | A tough opponent with one of the best records last season at 12-5. |
| Week 10 / Nov 10 / 1pm | New Orleans Saints | Division opponent. May be a little tougher in Who Dat Nation territory this time. |
| Week 11 / Nov 17 / 4:05pm | Denver Broncos | A winnable game. Broncos were 8-9 last season. |
| Week 12 / Nov 24 | Bye | If the Falcons are in a winning zone by this time, they could be on their way to a playoff bid. |
| Week 13 / Dec 1 / 1pm | Los Angeles Chargers | A winnable game, with a team that was 5-12 last season, worse than the Falcons. |
| Week 14 / Dec 8 / 1pm | Minnesota Vikings | Kirk Cousin’s former team. Wonder what reception he’ll get from Vikings fans? A winnable game against a 7-10 team last season, much improved since their last loss against the Vikings. |
| Week 15 / Dec 16 / 8:30pm | Las Vegas Raiders | A winnable game. |
| Week 16 / Dec 22 /1 pm | New York Giants | If this team doesn’t show offseason improvement over last season, could be a winnable game for Dirty Birds. |
| Week 17 / TBA | Washington Commanders | Former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn now coaches this team. A terrible record last season (4-13), one of those wins against the Falcons, but these are different birds since last season’s embarrassing loss. |
| Week 18 / TBA | Carolina Panthers | Final regular season game against a division opponent. Hopefully, this will be the win that sends them to postseason play. |
Game schedule and social media posts courtesy of Atlanta Falcons/X