The Falcons released their 2025 schedule earlier this week, so let’s dig through it and see what we can find.

Atlanta Falcons 2025 Schedule

• Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Week 2: @ Minnesota Vikings (SNF)
• Week 3: @ Carolina Panthers
• Week 4: Washington Commanders
• Week 5: Bye
• Week 6: Buffalo Bills (MNF)
• Week 7: @ San Francisco 49ers (SNF)
• Week 8: Miami Dolphins
• Week 9: @ New England Patriots
• Week 10: @ Indianapolis Colts (Berlin, Germany)
• Week 11: Carolina Panthers
• Week 12: @ New Orleans Saints
• Week 13: @ New York Jets
• Week 14: Seattle Seahawks
• Week 15: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TNF)
• Week 16: @ Arizona Cardinals
• Week 17: Los Angeles Rams (MNF)
• Week 18: New Orleans Saints

Early Bye Week

Despite traveling across the pond in Week 10, the Falcons will have a Week 5 bye week, which has been a talking point for a lot of Atlanta fans. It’s definitely not ideal, but let’s look at it from a different point of view and why it might not be as horrible as initially thought.

The “easiest” stretch of the Falcons’ season is arguably in the middle. From Week 8 to Week 13, they won’t face a single team that made the playoffs last year. Meanwhile, the Week 5 bye week is sandwiched between a brutal stretch to begin the season.

The Buccaneers, Vikings, Commanders, and Bills made the playoffs last year. In all likelihood, the Falcons will be underdogs in five of their first six games. That’s a brutal stretch, and one where you might like a break to regroup and lick your wounds.

Primetime Primetime Primetime

The other big talking point for Falcons fans, and really NFL fans in general, is the team’s five primetime matchups and six standalone games.

That’s a lot of faith in a team that hasn’t been above .500 since 2017, but let’s not pretend this is the NFL believing the Falcons will be Super Bowl contenders. The Falcons are in these primetime games for a couple of reasons that come down to one conclusion — eyeballs.

Michael Penix Jr. delivered in his only primetime appearance last season, putting on a thrilling performance against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders that went to overtime. The Falcons believe in Michael Penix Jr. The fans believe in him, and the league is right in line with that same thinking.

The NFL is not putting the Falcons in front of America because of Arthur Blank, the fans, Raheem Morris, or Jalon Walker. Hell, the league might even think the defense will be bad enough where Atlanta’s primetime games will be shootouts. That’s good TV from their perspective.

Regardless of the reasoning, the Falcons will be playing in front of the entire country six times.

The 2024 QB class meets in 2025

The 2024 quarterback class has the potential to be one of the best in recent memory, and the Falcons will face three of them this season. After squaring off with Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix last year, the club draws J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings, then Daniels and the Commanders again, before traveling to New England to take on Drake Maye and the Patriots.

The NFL will surely play these matchups up as much as possible. This is the next generation of quarterbacks, and Penix will get a chance to face more than half of his classmates.

Sundays in Atlanta

The Falcons have some home games that many fans won’t want to miss, beginning with the season opener. Despite getting swept in the series last year, the Buccaneers still won the division. The Falcons want revenge. The Bucs want revenge. It should be a good one in Atlanta.

Then, reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels and former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn come to Atlanta. JD5 is widely entertaining, and maybe I’m a bit biased because I went to LSU, but Daniels and Penix have all the makings of a must-watch TV rivalry.

Josh Allen and the Bills are also coming to town. The Falcons hosted Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs last year in primetime, and they’ll once again host one of the league’s top quarterbacks and the reigning MVP. He’s the kind of talent you go watch even if you’re rooting against him.

How about Matthew Stafford making his return to Georgia? A lot of Falcons fans have been rooting for the UGA legend and they might have a difficult time watching Jalon Walker wrecking shop. Of course, the Rams are must-watch TV as well, so that’ll be one a lot of Falcons fans have marked on their calendars.

Week 18 in Atlanta against the smelly Saints is always fun as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to put up a 50-burger en route to the first playoff berth since 2017? Or, let’s get really big brain here. The Falcons are already in the playoffs, Penix is sitting, and the Saints win, but the win takes them out of range for Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, or whichever quarterback is the top-ranked prospect. That might be even funnier than just whipping their ass.