The last time the Atlanta Falcons had national relevance in the NFL, they were busy turning a 28-3 third-quarter lead in Super Bowl LI into a shocking overtime loss to the New England Patriots. In the interim, they’ve seen Matt Ryan’s career come to an end (after a disappointing final season with the Colts) and have started a rebuild, first with Marcus Mariota at quarterback and now with Cincinnati Bearcats product Desmond Ridder holding the keys to the offense. How can they do this season? Read on to find our NFL betting analysis of the Falcons’ chances.
NFL Betting News: 2023 Atlanta Falcons Betting Analysis
It helps that the Falcons have the league’s easiest strength of schedule. They open with a Carolina Panthers team that will likely have Bryce Young making his pro debut, and they face Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, so they shouldn’t see a quarterback who has more than one pro start in his career until they see Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions in Week 3. That’s a relatively soft start for a team with a new defensive coordinator in Ryan Nielsen and with a lot of new players on defense.
The Falcons start October with a trip to London, but they opted not to have their bye come the next week moving it instead to the middle of November, Week 11. The two toughest stretches of the season come in in Weeks 3 and 4 (Detroit and then Jacksonville in London) and then near the end of the season, hosting New Orleans on November 26 and heading to New York to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Jets on December 3. They finish with three of four on the road in games that could be very cold: at the Jets, at Carolina in Week 15 and then December 31 in Chicago.
Falcons fans should be excited about free agency moves in the off-season. The team had all kinds of dead cap money holding them back the past two off-seasons, but they went and invested this time around. They signed edge rusher Bud Dupree, defensive end Calais Campbell and safety Jessie Bates III. They also got defensive tackle David Onyemata and linebacker Kaden Ellis from the Saints, along with DC Ryan Nielsen. This could add some intrigue to the divisional rivalry with New Orleans.
Could the Falcons win the NFC South? Desmond Ridder has Bijan Robinson at tailback and talent at wide receiver and tight end, so the offense should be productive, assuming that Ridder can successfully make the jump from solid performances at the Division I level to the NFL. His CFP semifinal game against Alabama didn’t show a lot in terms of performance against an elite defense, but a lot of terrific quarterbacks have a hard time moving the ball against the Crimson Tide. Getting Jacksonville at a neutral site instead of in Florida gets one of the toughest “road” games in a different setting, although the Jaguars’ investment in London play has led to a small following across the ocean. Almost 25% of the Atlanta schedule comes against rookie quarterbacks, as they see Bryce Young twice and also face C.J. Stroud (Houston) and Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis). The other divisional teams are Carolina (also in a rebuild, and perhaps a year or two behind Atlanta), Tampa Bay (in an odd hybrid of buying and selling, experimenting with Baker Mayfield at quarterback on a team with solid wide receivers but without an established tailback) and New Orleans (moving to Derek Carr at quarterback but with some holes in the skill positions on offense). In a division where no one looks primed to make a big move, the Falcons make an interesting pick.
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2023 Atlanta Falcons Regular Season Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All times ET | ||||
| 1 | Sep. 10 | vs. Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 2 | Sep. 17 | vs. Green Bay Packers | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 3 | Sep. 24 | at Detroit Lions | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 4 | Oct. 1 | at Jacksonville Jaguars (London) | 9:30 a.m. | ESPN+ |
| 5 | Oct. 8 | vs. Houston Texans | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 6 | Oct. 15 | vs. Washington Commanders | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 7 | Oct. 22 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 8 | Oct. 29 | at Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 9 | Nov. 5 | vs. Minnesota Vikings | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 10 | Nov. 12 | at Arizona Cardinals | 4:05 p.m. | CBS |
| 11 | Nov. 19 | BYE WEEK | ||
| 12 | Nov. 26 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 13 | Dec. 3 | at New York Jets | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 14 | Dec. 10 | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 15 | Dec. 17 | at Carolina Panthers | TBD | TBD |
| 16 | Dec. 24 | vs. Indianapolis Colts | 1 p.m. | Fox |
| 17 | Dec. 31 | at Chicago Bears | 1 p.m. | CBS |
| 18 | Jan. 6 or 7 | at New Orleans Saints | TBD | TBD |
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