The National Football League today released the 2016 regular season schedule. This year, Atlanta will be featured nationally on ESPN’s Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 and on Thursday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 9). Atlanta's opponents in 2016 combined for a 114-94 overall record during the regular season in 2015. The Falcons will also face six teams that qualified for the 2015 playoffs (Carolina, Arizona, Kansas City, Green Bay, Seattle and Denver) including the two teams that made it to Super Bowl 50. In addition to their yearly home and away contests with their NFC South opponents, the Falcons will face teams from the AFC and NFC West.
DOWNLOADABLE PDF: Click here to download and print the 2016 regular season schedule
ONLINE SCHEDULE: Click here to view the online version of the 2016 regular season schedule
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Also, based off of their second place finish in their divisions last season, Atlanta will take on the Green Bay Packers at home (Week 8) and the Philadelphia Eagles on the road (Week 10). The Falcons will also make four west coast trips this season, which will also include going against, Head Coach Dan Quinn's former team, the Seattle Seahawks in CenturyLink Field during Week 6.
Once again, 92.9 The Game will serve as the Falcons radio broadcast partners for the 2016 season. All 20 Falcons games (preseason and regular season) can be heard on 92.9 The Game (92.9 FM), with Wes Durham and Dave Archer calling the action.
The Falcons first hosted the Buccaneers in the Georgia Dome during Week 9 in 1993, and they will host the Buccaneers in the Georgia Dome for the final time to kick off the 2016 season. Atlanta and Tampa have split the all-time series in the Dome 9-9, with Atlanta winning six of their last eight matchups at home. In 2015, the Bucs swept the season series against Atlanta for the first time since 2007.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket packages for the 2016 season are now available! Visit atlantafalcons.com/tickets to learn pricing and availabilitiy.
The Falcons will travel to Oakland to face the Raiders for the 14th time and the first time since 2012 in Week 2. The Falcons have won the last three meetings versus the Raiders, but Oakland still leads the all-time season series 7-6. The two teams last met in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum back in 2008, where the Falcons won 24-0, which was the Falcons first road win against the Raiders since 1988.
In Week 3, the Falcons will head south to the Big Easy to face the Saints on Monday Night Football for the 10-year anniversary of the Saints' first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. Atlanta will look to avenge their two losses against the Saints last season, but they still hold a 48-45 advantage in the all-time series against their heated division rival. The Saints handed the Falcons their first loss of the 2015 season last year on Thursday Night Football in the Super Dome.
The Falcons will face the Panthers in the Georgia Dome for the final time in Week 4. The Carolina Panthers opened up their first game in franchise history in the Georgia Dome in 1995, and Atlanta sent them back to Charlotte with their first loss in franchise history as well. The Birds are 15-6 against the Panthers in the Georgia Dome and have won six of the past eight matchups against them at home, including a win last season that ruined Carolina's perfect season in Week 16.
The Falcons will head west once again in Week 5 to start their back-to-back west coast road trip. Atlanta will face the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos in the Mile-High City for the first time since 2004. The two teams last met in the Georgia Dome in 2012, where the Falcons came away with a 27-21 victory, but the Broncos lead the all-time series 8-5.
The Falcons will head to the Pacific Northwest in Week 6 when Quinn returns to Seattle to take on his former team. Quinn served as Seattle's defensive coordinator for two seasons (2013-14). During his tenure, the Seahawks became the fourth team in NFL history to lead the League in fewest points and yards allowed in back-to-back seasons. This matchup will be the 15th time the Seahawks and Falcons have squared off, with Seattle leading the series 9-5. During their last meeting in 2013, the Seahawks came away with a 33-10 victory over Atlanta in the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons will come back home and try to improve on their six game winning streak against the San Diego Chargers in Week 7. This will be the third matchup in the Georgia Dome – 10th overall meeting – between the two clubs and the first meeting in Atlanta since 2004, where the Falcons snuck away with a 21-20 victory over the Chargers. The Falcons lead the all-time series 8-1.
To end their two game home stretch, the Green Bay Packers will visit Atlanta for the first time since 2011 during Week 8 of the season. The two teams last met in 2014 at Lambeau Field, where the Packers held on to beat Atlanta 43-37. Jones set a new career high with 259 receiving yards during that game. That receiving total ranks as the fourth best total for a receiver in a Monday Night Football contest. The Packers lead the all-time series 15-12.
In Week 9, the Falcons will head to Florida for the start of their final back-to-back road game stretch to take on their NFC South division rival Tampa Bay on Thursday Night Football. Last season in Raymond James Stadium, the Falcons were unable to put the Bucs away in the fourth quarter and went home with a 23-19 loss. During that game, Jones passed former Falcons WR Andre Rison for fourth on the Falcons all-time receiving list on his sixth reception of the game, which was also Jones' 100th reception of the season. The Bucs lead the all-time series 23-22.
Atlanta will travel to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Eagles in Week 10. Last season, the Falcons kicked off the Dan Quinn era on Monday Night Football versus the Eagles and came away with a 26-24 victory. WR Julio Jones passed former Falcon Jim Mitchell for fifth on the Falcons all-time receiving list and finished the game with nine catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons came away with a 30-17 win at Lincoln Financial Field in their last meeting in Philly back in 2012. The Eagles lead the all-time series between the two clubs 15-13-1.
To view or download the schedule, click here.
Following a Week 11 bye, the Falcons will host the Arizona Cardinals in the Georgia Dome for the first time since 2014 in Week 12. During their last meeting, Ryan and Jones connected 10 times for 189 yards and one touchdown, and the Falcons came away with a 29-18 win. The Falcons have won three of their last four meetings against the Cards, but Arizona still holds the all-time series 15-13.
The Falcons will try and gain their third straight victory over Kansas City when the Chiefs come to visit the Georgia Dome in Week 13. The Falcons last played Kansas City in the Georgia Dome in 2008, coming away with a 38-14 victory. Atlanta held the Chiefs passing attack to only 128 yards and forced three interceptions during that win. The Chiefs lead the all-time series 5-3.
For the first time in 22 years, the Falcons will make their first trip to Los Angeles in Week 14 to take on the Rams. The Falcons came away with an 8-5 win the last time Atlanta traveled to the City of Angels. The Rams lead the all-time series 47-27-2.
DOWNLOADABLE PDF: Click here to download and print the 2016 regular season schedule
The Falcons will host the 49ers in the Georgia Dome for the final time in Week 15. This will be the 49ers first visit to Atlanta since the 2012 NFC Championship game. The Falcons faced the 49ers for the first time at Levi's Stadium last season and made a late game push to overcome a 17-13 deficit, but fell short 17-16. The 49ers lead the head-to-head meetings between the two former NFC West rivals, 46-29-1.
The Falcons will travel to Charlotte in Week 16 to face the Carolina Panthers on Christmas Eve. Atlanta will be searching for their first victory in Bank of America Stadium since 2011.
After playing 198 games in the Georgia Dome, the 95th matchup between the Falcons and Saints will be the 199th and the final contest in a place the Birds have called home since 1992. This New Year's Day game will be the 48th meeting in the city of Atlanta and the 25th and final matchup in the Georgia Dome before the Falcons enter the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017. Last season, the season finale featured a Falcons-Saints matchup in the Georgia Dome with the Saints sneaking away with a 20-17 victory.
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