Falcons Schedule Preview: Atlanta Has 'Easiest' Opponents in 2023

The Atlanta Falcons' 2023 schedule is set to be released Thursday night - but the opponents are already known ... and lean positively in Atlanta's favor.

The Atlanta Falcons are set to enter the third season of coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot's regime, this time with an expensive offseason leading to high expectations.

Fresh off consecutive 7-10 seasons, the Falcons technically finished fourth in the NFC South this past year, as a three-way tie for second saw Atlanta on the losing end of the tiebreaker.

As such, the Falcons will play a fourth-place schedule, making their life that much easier ... and according to NFL Research, results in Atlanta having the "easiest" schedule league-wide.

The order of the Falcons' games will be revealed Thursday night, but they're slated to have eight home games - the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders.

As for road games, Atlanta will travel to play the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets.

The Falcons' opponents posted a collective record of 119-167-3 last season, a winning percentage of .417. The Saints face the next-easiest schedule at .427, while the Philadelphia Eagles have the hardest at .566.

In essence, there's expected to be plenty of opportunities available for the Falcons in Smith and Fontenot's third year. Much of how far they go will come down to second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder, who's been given the starting job after a growth-filled four-game tryout to close 2022.

Atlanta knows it has a talented defense after spending considerable assets to upgrade all three levels this spring, and the offense should have a safe floor with a strong running game led by Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.

Throw in a favorable schedule, and there's a lot to like about how things are shaping up for the Falcons - but really, the extent to which they capitalize on it largely comes down to how Ridder runs the show.

Who will Ridder see first? Will the Falcons open at home or away? When will the bye week fall? 

Those answers - and much more - will come Thursday night, but for now, let's focus on the certainties - which start with the difficulties Atlanta's opponents experienced in 2022, only adding to the optimism after an already upbeat offseason.

You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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