The NFL recently released the full regular season schedule for 2025. Everyone has been eager to see what 2025 could look like. Every NFL team had their media departments find creative, fun ways to announce the schedule to the world. With every schedule now made available, you can get a picture of which teams will have the easy path to a playoff berth… or the not-so-easy road. No matter how good the team got it, every franchise has games that will make or break the entire season. When looking at the Atlanta Falcons, there are some games that stand out in this respect.
Three Games that will Prove Atlanta’s Strength
Buffalo Bills: Week 6 in Atlanta
A primetime game the week after a bye is a big one, no matter the sport. The Falcons will be under the Atlanta lights against the reigning NFL MVP in Josh Allen. The team will have a week to prepare and rest, a luxury that the Bills will not have. Usually, the second half of a team’s season is determined by how well they play the game following a bye week. Atlanta does not have very many major games before this one to test them on their strength.
They’ll play opponents like the struggling Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings, starting a young quarterback making his 2nd career start. Before Josh Allen, they will play against Baker Mayfield, J.J. McCarthy, Bryce Young, and Jayden Daniels. Make no mistake, these quarterbacks are amazing players and will be difficult to defend. However, they do not play to the same level as the reigning MVP. The newly revamped and young defense will be put to the test in week six, and their performance will be a big indicator of how good of a team Atlanta is.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Week 15 at Tampa Bay
In what will likely be a NFC South Title game, Atlanta travels down to Tampa Bay in week 15. These two teams are going to be the frontrunners for the division in 2025. With Carolina still in a rebuilding stage and New Orleans in search of their future QB, Atlanta and Tampa Bay are by far the best built teams to push for the playoffs.
Playing in Tampa Bay in primetime will be a challenge. By week 15, injury plagues affect almost every team. When this game is played, Atlanta will be coming off a game against the Seahawks four days prior and without a bye week for two months. They’ll be drained but yet pushing for a division title. A division title will secure Atlanta a spot in the playoffs, while losing this game could potentially get them a much lower seed or even knock them out completely. Watch out for this game in 2025… it could be one fans talk about for years to come.
Washington Commanders: Week 4 in Atlanta
This may come as a surprise to a lot of fans. However, when you think about what is ahead, this game puts a lot of pressure on Atlanta. They will be facing one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league in Jayden Daniels. After this game, Atlanta has to play Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills and Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers. If Atlanta comes up short against Buffalo and/or San Francisco, they cannot afford to go 1-2 or even 0-3 in these games. With how tight the race for the NFC South is expected to be with Tampa Bay, having a losing record in these games could set them back tremendously.
This game won’t be a cake walk either. Washington turned heads last year under former head coach for Atlanta Dan Quinn. They put together an explosive offense under Kliff Kingsbury and had a stout defense to go along with it in a push for the NFC Championship in 2024. With little talent leaving them in 2025, this team will be just as scary as before. It will be the first mobile quarterback James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker will experience on the NFL level. Both of these players played against and beat Jayden Daniels by a large margin. However, that was not in the National Football League with the offensive line he has in front of him.
Main Photo: [Brett Davis] – USA Today Sports
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