With the preseason underway and the regular season fast approaching, Last Word on Pro Football is analyzing the schedules of all 32 NFL teams. Each team’s 16-game slate will be split into its most difficult (1-8) and easiest games (9-16). For this article, the Atlanta Falcons most difficult games of 2019 are under the microscope.
Check out the eight easiest games on the 2019 Falcons schedule.
Atlanta Falcons Most Difficult Games of 2019
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Week 10: at New Orleans Saints
Playing at New Orleans in the Superdome is always a difficult task. The Falcons went 0-2 against New Orleans last year and lost 31-17 on the road. Head coach Dan Quinn is assuming defensive play-calling duties this year and will need a great gameplan to be able to slow down Drew Brees and the Saints explosive offense on the turf. The Falcons will be helped in this matchup by the fact that they are coming off their bye week. If Atlanta has aspirations of winning the NFC South, they need to do well in their head-to-head matchups against the team that ran away with the division last year en route to the number one seed in the conference.
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Week One: at Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota is not the best team on Atlanta’s schedule. The Falcons play six opponents who made the playoffs last year, and Minnesota is not one of them. However, when you take into account the timing and setting of this game, it will be an awfully difficult one for the Falcons to win. The Vikings are itching to get back on the field and prove they are better than last year’s 8-7-1 record. Minnesota also missed an opportunity to host the Super Bowl. Vikings fans are full of optimism that quarterback Kirk Cousins will produce like he is getting paid to do in year two. Once the Gjallarhorn sounds, the Vikings will be locked in pursuit of an NFC North division championship.
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Week Three: at Indianapolis Colts
This game would be much lower on the list if Andrew Luck’s calf injury is more serious than we think at this point. However, if Luck is healthy and starting, it will be tough for the Falcons to beat the AFC South favorites in their own building. Atlanta is 2-14 all-time against Indianapolis and hasn’t beaten them since 2011. For another betting nugget, the Falcons are also 5-13 ATS on the road since 2017.
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Week 13: vs New Orleans Saints
Atlanta could already start to feel their chances of winning the division slip away last year when they lost at home to the Saints in Week Three to drop to 1-2. The game was a thriller, with the Saints prevailing 43-37 in overtime. As long as Drew Brees is quarterbacking the Saints, they are going to be a tough team to defend. Falcons fans hope that there is a lot riding on this game at this point in the season, instead of the Saints jumping out to a comfortable lead by this point. This game takes on added meaning as the primetime game on Thanksgiving night.
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Week Seven: vs Los Angeles Rams
The defending NFC champions come to town the week after the Falcons travel back from the West Coast. Atlanta cannot afford to be jet-lagged in this matchup as head coach Sean McVay’s offense was very difficult to defend last year. It will be interesting to see how much of a factor running back Todd Gurley is at this point in the season. His arthritic knee has people speculating that his workload may be scaled back considerably this year.
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Week Five: at Houston Texans
Another non-conference road game makes the list, once again against an AFC South contender. To this point, all the games on this list of most difficult games are played in domes. In somewhat of a scheduling quirk, the Falcons play just three games outside of a dome this year. Atlanta is just 3-7 in their last ten October road games. The Falcons’ offense will be helped by playing this game on a fast track indoors, but quarterback Deshaun Watson on the other side of the field is no slouch. Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins are considered two of the best wide receivers in the game. They get a chance to square off against each other in this matchup and see who can put on a better show.
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Week Two: vs Philadelphia Eagles
If quarterback Carson Wentz can stay healthy for a full season, the Eagles will certainly have Super Bowl aspirations. Atlanta lost a defensive struggle at Philadelphia in Week One 18-12 last year, but that was with Nick Foles at starting quarterback. This game would be higher on the list, if not for it being Atlanta’s home opener. These games often add extra motivation and juice, and I expect Atlanta to play well. Atlanta is 5-2 in their last seven home games versus the Eagles.
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Week Eight: vs Seattle Seahawks
The Falcons will have earned their bye week after playing this game, as they will be coming off back-to-back weeks facing the top two contenders in the NFC West. Head coach Dan Quinn gets a chance to face off against former boss Pete Carroll in what figures to be a hard-hitting and physical game. The Seahawks love to run the football, finishing first in the league in yards last year. They will present a problem for Atlanta’s defense that finished 25th against the run last year.
