We’re four short days away from the Atlanta Falcons season opener in Philadelphia. It’s time to take a stab at predicting how the season will go.<\/p>\n
I will be looking at each game individually. As of this writing, it’s hard to tell how the season will inevitably end up. I will provide a brief explanation of why I picked the result I did as well as a score for those of you who are into that. Also, I’m predicting scores based on how far apart I think the teams are. There will probably be more one-score games than I predict because this is the NFL.\u00a0Disclaimer: I’m not an expert on every team in the NFL, especially our AFC opponents. You can tell me I’m wrong and you’ll probably be right!<\/strong><\/p>\n Schedule<\/span><\/p>\n This is a tough matchup for the Falcons. The defending champs will be pumped in front of their home crowd on opening night. I procrastinated this enough to be confident that Nick Foles<\/a><\/strong> is the Eagles’ starting quarterback for this one, but I still have to favor the home team. They controlled the line of scrimmage in the 2017 Divisional Round and I\u00a0expect them to do so again with most of their key contributors back plus the addition of hybrid pass rusher Michael Bennett<\/a><\/strong>. They still have one of the best offensive lines in the league. I can’t give Steve Sarkisian<\/strong> the benefit of the doubt against a really good defense until I see it in 2018.<\/p>\n Prediction: Eagles 24, Falcons 17<\/strong><\/p>\n Carolina is an interesting team. Last year, both games were tightly contested with both home teams eventually pulling out victories. This should be a Falcons win. The Panthers have major question marks on the offensive line with Matt Kalil<\/a><\/strong> out for an extended time and Daryl Williams<\/a><\/strong> just cleared to return to practice. It would be a bad omen for the future if the Falcons can’t exploit that group on the fast track at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Thomas Davis<\/a><\/strong> suspension should open up some room for the running backs and tight ends. The Panthers front seven remains one of the premier groups in football. Adding Dontari Poe<\/a><\/strong> only makes them better. This needs to be the game where Sarkisian shows some traction after what I assume will be a rough Week One.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 24 Panthers 14<\/strong><\/p>\n If things go the way most of us expect, this will be the first of the two most important matchups in the NFC South this season. These two teams are a virtual tossup. Mark Ingram<\/a> <\/strong>will miss this game. Unfortunately, I’d rather see him take snaps away from their electrifying second-year man,\u00a0Alvin Kamara<\/a><\/strong>. The Saints offense will once again be among the league’s best with<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 23 Saints 20<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bengals have some really good pieces like A.J. Green<\/a><\/strong> and Joe Mixon<\/a><\/strong>. They also have Andy Dalton<\/a><\/strong>. This has all the makings of a trap game coming off an NFC South war the previous week and with a daunting trip to Pittsburgh up next. This reminds me of the Buffalo and Miami debacles of 2017. I expect the Falcons to do enough to win, but it may not be pretty.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 27 Bengals 17<\/strong><\/p>\n Pittsburgh should be a strong contender in the AFC North. We only get to see Antonio Bryant<\/a><\/strong> vs Julio Jones<\/a><\/strong> once every four years so let’s hope they’re both healthy. Pittsburgh possesses one of the best offensive lines we will see and that may be enough. Le’Veon Bell<\/a><\/strong> will be a load for the Falcons front seven considering he’s the same size as middle linebacker\u00a0Deion Jones<\/a><\/strong>. They were the only team last season to finish in the top 5 in both total offense and total defense. Of course, it helps to play in the AFC North, but this is a legitimately complete team. I’ll predict a shootout with the Steelers doing just enough to get the win.<\/p>\n Prediction: Steelers 34 Falcons 28<\/strong><\/p>\n Dirk Koetter<\/strong>? Mike Smith<\/strong>? Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could watch the Falcons implode right before the Dan Quinn era and think: “We’ve found our next coaching staff.” Tampa has been the next big thing for half a decade now. I’m not buying the Jameis Winston<\/a><\/strong> hype. Even with notorious Falcon demolisher Mike Evans<\/a><\/strong>, he will make his share of mistakes. I don’t expect this one to be close in Atlanta.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 27 Buccaneers 10<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the Falcons’ few chances to impress a national audience. The Giants are an interesting team. They went from one of the surprises of the 2016 season to an absolute doormat in 2017. As good as Odell Beckham<\/a><\/strong> is and Saquon Barkley<\/a><\/strong> could be.. they still can’t block and the ghost of Eli Manning<\/a><\/strong> still tops their QB depth chart. I’m not a fan. The Giants will need their defense to return to its dominant form of two seasons ago or this will be a long season. Falcons win going away.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 24 Giants 14<\/strong><\/p>\n Love the midseason bye week. It’s exactly what you want for a contending team. I’ll go out on a limb here and say I’m 100 percent confident we will not lose this week.<\/p>\n I can’t, in good faith, predict a team fielding Alex Smith<\/a> <\/strong>and (potentially) Adrian Peterson<\/a><\/strong> as starters to win this game. Anything is possible though. The Redskins just strike me as a mediocre team. There’s a case to be\u00a0made for either trying to be really good or really bad, but this is a team stuck in the middle. Washington was 16th in total offense and 21st in total defense in 2017. It would be a mild upset to see the Falcons lose here, but no more surprising than last year’s AFC East struggles.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 21 Redskins 17<\/strong><\/p>\n There’s a lot to like about Cleveland’s future. There’s not much hope for this season, though. It’s hard to say where they’ll be with so much uncertainty at the quarterback position, but they’re not in the Falcons’ class yet. They’ll hang around for a quarter or a half, but Atlanta should pull away to win comfortably.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 31 Browns 13<\/strong><\/p>\n Week 11 is where the schedule starts to toughen up a bit. Atlanta easily outpaced Dallas in a 27-7 blowout last year thanks to Adrian Clayborn<\/a><\/strong>‘s six-sack performance. However, Dallas should be much improved with Ezekiel Elliott<\/a><\/strong>‘s return and a healthy offensive line. This was a potential matchup I dreaded in the 2016 playoffs and I still don’t think it’s ideal now. The Falcons haven’t done well against power run teams and mobile quarterbacks. Dallas has both. They have some holes, as well, but I expect another shootout and this might be one where the Falcons are caught looking ahead.<\/p>\n Prediction: Cowboys 27 Falcons 23<\/strong><\/p>\n By week 12, I expect both the Falcons and Saints to be hanging around the seven to eight-win mark. New Orleans is a tough out at home and this is a short week. I’m excited about Falcons football on Thanksgiving night, but this one feels like a loss. Both teams should be in the thick of the playoff hunt so assuming the Falcons arrive in solid playoff position, they should fine despite a second consecutive loss.<\/p>\n Prediction: Saints 28 Falcons 24<\/strong><\/p>\n This is one of my favorite matchups on the 2018 schedule. Matt Ryan<\/a><\/strong> vs Joe Flacco<\/a><\/strong>. We all know who the better quarterback is despite what some Ravens fans would have you think. The Ravens, like the Bengals and Redskins, just strike me as a very mediocre team. Their defense is good enough to keep it close, but they won’t be able to handle the Falcons’ speed on turf. Atlanta gets back on track with a comfortable win.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 23 Ravens 13<\/strong><\/p>\n Three in a row vs Aaron Rodgers<\/a><\/strong> was nice. It’s hard to see them making it four. Atlanta and Matt Ryan<\/a><\/strong> have been less than stellar in cold weather recently so drawing Green Bay in December in a game that could decide home-field advantage in a potential playoff matchup is less than ideal. Ryan was pretty good in his last trip to Green Bay, a 43-37 loss in 2014, where he threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, they were down 31-7 before he caught fire. The Packers should finally avenge recent history. Hopefully, this game doesn’t mean a trip to Green Bay in January.<\/p>\n Prediction: Packers 31 Falcons 17<\/strong><\/p>\n Who will the Cardinals quarterback be at this point? My money is on Josh Rosen<\/a><\/strong>. Sam Bradford<\/a><\/strong> never makes it to week 15. How about at running back?\u00a0David Johnson<\/a><\/strong> is one of the NFL’s best when healthy, but he’s coming off consecutive major injuries. The Cardinals have some great pieces on defense like Patrick Peterson<\/a><\/strong>, Markus Golden<\/a><\/strong>, and NFL sack leader Chandler Jones<\/a><\/strong>. They aren’t a team I trust or fear. Their ceiling is as high as their floor is low. The Falcons need this game heading into two division road games and I think they’ll get it.<\/p>\n Prediction: Falcons 31 Cardinals 21<\/strong><\/p>\nWeek One: at Philadelphia Eagles<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Two: vs Carolina Panthers<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Three: vs New Orleans Saints<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Four: vs Cincinnati Bengals<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Five: at Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Six: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Seven: vs New York Giants<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week Eight: BYE WEEK<\/h3>\n
Week Nine: at Washington Redskins<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week 10: at Cleveland Browns<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week 11: vs Dallas Cowboys<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week 12: at New Orleans Saints<\/h3>\n
Week 13: vs Baltimore Ravens<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week 14: at Green Bay Packers<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week 15: vs Arizona Cardinals<\/a><\/h3>\n
Week 16: at Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n