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The early bye week, the road games against the Patriots and Seahawks, and the late season run of NFC South contests may make you feel like the Falcons got a bit gipped with this schedule. You may feel that way even if you acknowledge that they could have landed a much more difficult slate.
For those of you feeling those unfair blues, we’ve got some good news.
It ranges from 0 to 4. NYG 4, SF 3, DET 3, SEA 2, NE 2, GB 2, PIT 2. There are 14 teams with 1 and 11 with no games vs opponents off byes
— Brian Burke (@bburkeESPN) April 21, 2017
The Falcons are one of the 14 teams who only face one team coming off a bye week, and that team is the Buccaneers, who have theirs in Week 11. Atlanta’s home for that contest, making it a relatively minor issue, even against what figures to be a tough Tampa Bay team. Otherwise, Atlanta’s lucky enough to not have to face any well-rested teams during the regular season.
The Falcons already figure to be one of the NFC’s best teams, and with a return to the Super Bowl on all of our minds, I’ll take any small advantage I can get.