The Atlanta Falcons are about to start a season which they hope is the beginning of the foundation of a new era for the franchise under head coach Kevin Stefanski.

With a division that's still there for the taking, Stefanski is going to look to compete right out of the gate, and he will have to navigate the schedule in order to do that. Atlanta does not have an easy schedule by any means, but it's not quite as tough as some across the league either.

The middle portion of the schedule though is a gauntlet though, and coming off three straight primetime games, it's the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and a trip to Spain to face the Cincinnati Bengals. Things don't get any easier once the team returns stateside as a date with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at home looms in Week 10.

These two teams do not have a whole lot of experience going up against each other with Kansas City winning the last matchup early in the 2024 season by a score of 22-17 and no meetings since 2020 prior to that. Atlanta gets the bad luck of taking on a healthy Mahomes, who after a rough 2025 season that saw it end with an injury for him will be hungry to get back to the playoffs.

As for what the Chiefs will be this year, it's hard to say. Things were headed south well before Mahomes went down, and while they have re-tooled things, they are not the fearsome force they were even just two years ago.

Should Andy Reid be able to get things back on track for an offense that gets Rashee Rice back and adds Kenneth Walker into the fold from free agency, Kansas City could prove as tough a task as the last time the two sides faced off.

Being able to limit Mahomes is obviously the key here, but that has proven easier said than done over the years. Notably, Atlanta will have their bye week after this in Week 11, so they want to end on a high note before that final stretch of the schedule hits them starting in Week 12.

A victory over the Chiefs would be a wonderful way to do that, but time will tell if Stefanski and whoever his quarterback is at that point in the year can make it happen.