Falcons vs. Lions: a quick look at the series history

The Falcons and the Lions will face off in Atlanta tomorrow. Neither team has a winning record. And, to be frank, neither team is likely to be competitive over the remainder of the 2020 season. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t come out swinging and intent on walking away victorious.

Let’s take a quick look at the series history before kickoff.

The Lions hold a commanding 24-13 lead in this series. That said, the Falcons have won 4 of their last 5 against the Lions, and that takes us all the way back to September of 2008. In other words, the Falcons have had the Lions’ number during the Matt Ryan era.

These teams first played on September 26, 1966, during the Falcons’ inaugural season. The Lions won that game 28-10, resulting in an 0-3 start for the Falcons. It’d go on to be an 0-9 start before the Falcons secured they secured the first victory in franchise history in Week 10 against the Baltimore Colts.

The Falcons and the Lions haven’t played since September 24, 2017, a strange 30-26 Falcons victory. The Falcons went into that game 2-0 and emerged undefeated. But they’d go on to lose their next 3 games, and if we’re honest historians, that game showcased some of the deficiencies of that team. Matt Ryan threw 3 interceptions that day, but he also threw 2 touchdown passes, the first to Mohamed Sanu during the 1st quarter and a second, go ahead touchdown to Taylor Gabriel during the 4th quarter.

Your thoughts about this series history, Falcoholics?