FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — My very first thought upon seeing the Atlanta Falcons' 2025 schedule was: "A Week 5 bye?!"
Following shortly thereafter came: "Two separate west coast trips?!"
And then: "Consecutive NFC South matchups following a trip to Germany?!"
Before finally landing on: "What the actual heck?!" *shakes fist at sky*
I didn't like the Falcons' 2025 schedule. There. I said it. I think it is overly complicated in scope for no reason. I have a problem with the bye week being so early considering the traveling the Falcons have to do in 2025. I take issue with not putting the San Francisco 49ers game and Arizona Cardinals game back-to-back. Just to be nit-picky while I am at it, I don't like that from Week 7 (at San Francisco) to Week 13 (at the New York Jets), that the Falcons have just two home games but five away games spanning from the west coast to Germany with two divisional rivals sandwiched between those weeks. Oh! And while I'm at it? I don't like the fact that the Falcons go on the road in back-to-back weeks four times but only host teams in back-to-back weeks once... in Weeks 17 and 18.
This not a schedule that sets the Falcons up for success. It's a grueling grind of the body and mind that will test the limits of professional athletes' own physicality and ability to endure. And don't give me any of that a "Thursday-Night-Game-is-a-mini-bye" nonsense. A mini-bye is great when you're in the middle of a 9-game stretch, sure. But at the backend of a 13-game stretch? With potentially a postseason ahead? Nah fam.
Again, I don't like this schedule. But you know what? It doesn't matter one single bit what I think. It doesn't even matter what players or coaches or fans think. This is the schedule, for better or for worse. And the Falcons have to put the ball down every week (except Week 5) and win more than they lose.
Yes, that last point is the most important, because this is an organization that hasn't been to the postseason since 2017. It feels like a make-or-break year for this Falcons front office, specifically, with no record above .500 having been accomplished since Terry Fontenot arrived in 2021. The performances of the first couple seasons working out of salary cap hell were understandable. This team was pieced together with rookies and veteran free agents on short, cap-friendly deals. That is no longer the position the Falcons find themselves in, especially after not reaching expectations to stand atop the NFC South in 2024.
The time for the Falcons to strike is now, in 2025, while the iron is hot.*
(Read: While you still have Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Michael Penix Jr. on their rookie deals... in a year when you used not one, but two first-round picks on edge rushers... in a time where you return a majority of one of the league-best, run-blocking offensive lines... while you still have other impactful players like Jessie Bates III and A.J. Terrell under contract...)*
The Falcons' 2025 schedule doesn't do the organization any favors in its quest to return to the postseason. There's nothing about it that's convenient. However, that will all be a footnote at the season's conclusion — no one will care about the schedule or its pitfalls. All that matters is how many wins you have, and for the Falcons in 2025, they need however many wins will get them into the postseason.
