Hot start is crucial given back end of Falcons' 2020 schedule
If the Falcons want to make the playoffs, or even finish better than 7-9, they have to start fast in 2020.
It’s a non-negotiable because the back end of their schedule is unforgiving. And that’s putting it lightly.
After the Falcons’ Week 10 bye, Atlanta faces Drew Brees and the Saints twice in three weeks and the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers in Weeks 15 and 17 with a road matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs stuck in between.
The quarterbacks that the Falcons face in their final seven games have won a combined eight Super Bowls and four MVP awards, so they’ll need plenty of wiggle room going into the home stretch if they want to go any better than 7-9.
Unfortunately, the front part of Atlanta’s 2020 schedule isn’t exactly soft, either.
The Seahawks, a team inches away from taking the one-seed in the NFC away from the 49ers last season, come to town Week 1 before the Falcons take on the ever-talented Cowboys in Dallas.
After a Week 3 home game against Chicago, the Falcons will travel to Green Bay to play the Packers on Monday Night Football. Two weeks later, they’ll head north again to take on the Vikings, the team who knocked out the Saints in the playoffs last year.
As difficult as these games are, the Falcons need to steal at least a few, given the tough set of matchups that await them in December.
According to CBS, the Falcons face the toughest schedule in all of football next season, but if there is any opportunity for Atlanta to catch a break it comes in the front part of their season.
They play the Panthers twice before the calendar rolls over to November, the assumed cellar-dwellers in the NFC South. Atlanta also faces the likes of Detroit and Denver before hitting their Week 10 bye, both games they should be favored to win.
The 2020 campaign is vital for the Falcons franchise. Their window of contention with the current nucleus of players is closing as Julio Jones and Matt Ryan grow older. Unrest has grown around Atlanta after consecutive 7-9 seasons.
This season is crucial in the trajectory of the club, and if Dan Quinn and his team wants to return to relevance, they cannot afford another cold start.
