The Atlanta Falcons’ 2025 season was a disappointment considering that many projected them to take a step forward and win the NFC South in Year 2 of the Raheem Morris regime. A somewhat promising 3-2 start gave way to them losing seven out of their next eight games and being eliminated from playoff contention in early December. To make matters worse, Michael Penix Jr. was lost for the year due to a partially-torn ACL and questions over his viability as Atlanta’s franchise QB will persist heading into next season.
Atlanta Falcons opponents 2026: Who’s on the schedule, how easy or hard will their schedule be
The Falcons missed the playoffs in 2025. We already know their 2026 opponents and we’ll take an early look at the slate.
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But it wasn’t all bad as the team rallied for four straight wins to end the year, forcing a three-way tie at the top of the NFC South standings. Bijan Robinson set a franchise record with over 2,200 yards from scrimmage and rookie James Pearce racked up 10.5 sacks on defense. Many things will have to be addressed in the offseason, but they at least know their list of opponents for 2026.
Atlanta Falcons list of opponents
Home opponents
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- San Francisco 49ers
- Kansas City Chiefs
Road opponents
- Carolina Panthers
- Cleveland Browns
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- New Orleans Saints
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Commanders
Atlanta Falcons schedule analysis
The Falcons will have nine home games and eight road games next season pending the announcement of the matchups for the 2026 international games. The rotation will include matchups against the entire AFC North and NFC North, along with their usual six divisional games within the NFC South. Since they finished third in the division, they will be matched up with the third-place finishers of the AFC West (Chiefs), NFC West (49ers), and NFC East (Commanders) to round out the 17-game schedule.
Atlanta will have a challenging slate with six matchups against 2025 playoff participants on tap for next season. Games against the likes of the Bears, Rams/49ers, and Packers appear to be the toughest games on the docket, while the Lions, Ravens, and Bengals are bound to return to form after disappointing campaigns in 2025. And considering that Patrick Mahomes will spend the offseason and possibly the start of next year rehabbing his ACL/LCL tears, the level of difficulty for the Chiefs game will depend on where they are slotted on the schedule. Throw in the usual wackiness of the NFC South and the Falcons’ 2026 slate could go a number of ways.
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