Falcons 2019 schedule: Atlanta’s teed up with a second place, dome heavy schedule

The Atlanta Falcons just capped off their 2018 season in disappointing fashion, finishing 7-9. Yet they’re still second place in the NFC South, and thus we know exactly who they’ll be playing in 2019, both home and away.

As Aaron Freeman at FalcFans noted, the Falcons are currently lined up to play 13 indoor games in 2019, which is ideal for a speedy team like, well, theirs. There also don’t appear to be any cold weather outdoor games on the schedule at all, which is an early promising note for what has to be considered a critical year for a team that crushed a lot of dreams after being named a Super Bowl favorite before this year began.

The hardest games on this schedule based on this year (which is not, as you know, a reliable indicator) certainly look to be the Rams, Seahawks, and Eagles at home, as well as road games against the Colts, Texans and Vikings. New Orleans will obviously be difficult unless Drew Brees hangs up his cleats this offseason, as well, but you knew that.

It’s obviously frustrating that the Falcons’ win, which was at least fun to watch beyond the first half, carried them into second place and set them up against (potentially) better teams. It’ll be incumbent on them to make the necessary improvements to catch up to the Saints and stay ahead of teams like the Vikings and Eagles who are smarting after surprisingly lackluster seasons and will be out shopping for real upgrades.

With better play along the offensive and defensive lines, improvement from players with loads of talent and inconsistent results like Calvin Ridley and Takk McKinley, and legitimate upgrades at the coordinator spots, this team should be able to rebound in 2019. They’ll have plenty of tough opponents to navigate, but they’ll at least get the luxury of doing so indoors. They just have to hope the problem isn’t with Dan Quinn and the brain trust in the front office, who reportedly aren’t going anywhere.