The Atlanta Falcons have a challenging divisional matchup at the midway point.
The Atlanta Falcons are heading into the regular season here in just a few weeks, and the hope is that they will be able to navigate this schedule and potentially compete for a division title.
The NFC South is still winnable, and Kevin Stefanski inherits a roster which is capable of getting it done if everyone plays up to their capabilities. While Atlanta does have a very tough start to the season and plays several huge primetime games including three in a row in Weeks 3, 4 and 5, the schedule is overall pretty manageable.
Most importantly though for any team trying to win a tightly contested division is handling business and beating their rivals when given the chance, and the Falcons will get the first crack of the year at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8.
Hitting the road to go South, it's the road game in Tampa up first in a Sunday afternoon showdown.
Falcons Will Attempt to Get Started Right vs Bucs
It was two very close games last season between Atlanta and Tampa Bay to wind up splitting the series after the Falcons were able to sweep the year prior. These two teams are usually very close in the standings, but the Buccaneers are going to look a bit different this year than they did last year.
While he was injured for a significant portion of last season, the absence of Mike Evans will be felt on offense and more importantly in the Atlanta, however a wide receiver trio of Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan is no pushover by any means.
Baker Mayfield is going to try to get back on track after a great start to the year wound up falling off the rails as the offense could not keep it going, and they are going to be in the conversation for this division once again.
Mayfield is 3-4 against the Falcons, but individually he has performed well and given Atlanta serious trouble in their matchups over the years. If he can get back to the kind of MVP-like form he had early on in 2025 and keep it up for a full season, it will mean Tampa Bay has an excellent chance at the division title.
If the Falcons want to win the NFC South, Tampa Bay might just be their biggest threat, so this is a huge showdown early in the year that marks right around the midway point of the season.
