Five biggest questions ahead of Falcons’ schedule release

As for road games, along with their divisional opponents, the Falcons will play the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders.

Thursday’s schedule release will provide dates, times and television channels. But it’ll also offer a look at the specific challenges — the rough stretches, the road trips and the timing of divisional games — awaiting coach Kevin Stefanski in his first year leading the Falcons.

Here are the five most pressing questions facing the Falcons’ schedule.

When will the bye week fall, and will it offer reprieve from Madrid?

The Falcons faced a longer, more difficult trans-Atlantic trek last season when they played the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin, but Madrid — an 8 ½ flight and a time zone six hours ahead of Atlanta — is hardly an easy trip.

Teams can request to have the bye week placed upon their return from the international trip, but the NFL doesn’t have to comply. Last year, the Falcons had a Week 5 bye and no extended break upon returning from their Week 10 trip to Berlin.

The Falcons’ game in Madrid marks the halfway point of their season. Should they get a bye week immediately after, they would return to an eight-game sprint to the finish line. It’s an ideal situation if it comes to fruition, but it’s hardly a guarantee.

Hello, Primetime?

The Falcons played five primetime games in 2025 — twice apiece on Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football, along with one appearance on Thursday Night Football — to follow a 2024 campaign where they also saw four stand-alone nightcaps.

Will that momentum carry into 2026? Unlikely.

The Falcons have less national optimism entering this fall than either of the past two years, and they only have six games against teams who missed the playoffs in 2025. That list, however, doesn’t include a few usual postseason suspects who had disappointing years in the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions.

No matter; the Falcons may ultimately land a few primetime games, but it would be surprising if they neared the total of the previous two years.

Stefanski’s return to Cleveland looms — but when?

The Browns fired Stefanski in January after a six-year tenure headlined by two NFL Coach of the Year awards, a pair of postseason appearances and a 45-56 record. There was contention surrounding Cleveland’s decision given the heights Stefanski took the organization to, and he lasted less than two weeks on the market before the Falcons hired him.

Stefanski will return to Cleveland at some point this fall. The Falcons were part of a similar story in 2024, when quarterback Kirk Cousins faced the Vikings in Minneapolis and heard a steady chorus of boos. Stefanski’s reception will be interesting, and the timing may affect it, too.

What if it’s a late-season game and the Browns and Falcons are headed in different directions? If it’s an early matchup, perhaps tension is higher. Stefanski took several former Browns assistants with him, too, which adds to the allure and emotions of this interleague matchup.

Week 1: Home or away?

The Falcons haven’t started the season on the road since 2019. Their past two coaching staffs never knew a Week 1 game away from home. Perhaps this one will.

There’s an even split between home and away games — eight apiece — to go along with the trip to Madrid. So, the math is even.

The streak sits at six straight years with the season opener at home. Will it reach seven?

When are the NFC South matchups?

The Falcons have played a division opponent in Week 1 three of the past four years, and they’ve finished the season with an NFC South rival for more than a decade, as is standard NFL scheduling practice.

But matchups in between have been more sporadic. Some are clumped together in the middle of the season; others are sprinkled throughout the early and later portion of the schedule.

It’s been 10 years since the Falcons last won the NFC South. They’ve been competitive, but too often faded into the bridesmaid. Handling business against divisional foes — no matter where they are on the calendar — is among Stefanski’s biggest tasks in Year 1.