The Atlanta Falcons have a wonderful opportunity in front of them this week, and the value of playing in an international game like this against a Super Bowl contending team in the AFC is not lost on the team.

All week long, Falcons coaches have talked about this game like it's a chance to show off the Atlanta brand to the rest of the world, but it goes beyond that as well in terms of how it could impact this season and the years ahead. Superstar running back Bijan Robinson, who might just be the face of the franchise put it pretty simply this week when he said this game has the chance to shape the foundation of the franchise.

When asked what it would mean to leave Madrid with a victory, Robinson referred to it as a potential "culture changer."

The hope of course is that this entire season under Kevin Stefanski can change the culture of Atlanta, and while there have been some signs so far, it has yet to fully come together to this point. A victory over an undefeated San Francisco 49ers seemed like it could be a "culture changer" only for the team to take a massive step back the following week with a chance to take control of the division against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If this season is going to not yet be the type of year fans have been waiting for, games like this do provide glimmers of hope for the future. This division is poor enough in 2026 that the Falcons do not have much excuse to not win it, and this would be a huge step towards making that happen.

Ultimately though, this was never going to be a one-year project for Stefanski and he was always going to have his work cut out in getting this team to compete in a loaded NFC filled with a ton of great teams.

Securing a victory in Madrid this week though would be a wonderful step in a process that is going to be longer than just one game or even one season. This is a game Atlanta should have a great chance at winning, and if they can do that, the season could get off to the races when the Falcons return to the United States for the rest of their schedule.