Atlanta Falcons Schedule Release: What We Know, Confirmed Opponents, and Dates

Happy NFL schedule release week to all who celebrate this joyous mid-May occasion! Some call it the Super Bowl for social media teams across the league, but it also gives life to an otherwise tired part of the offseason.  

The Atlanta Falcons received confirmation of who they will face and when in their international game in Madrid, but little else is officially known at this time. 

With Kevin Stefanski entering his first season as the team’s head coach, the Falcons are set to undergo a camp battle to determine who will lead them on the field at quarterback. The new era is filled with uncertainty, just as the pending schedule is. 

Falcons’ 2026 Opponents

There have been plenty of comments about the easier strength of schedule the Falcons have coming into this season (.465), but that is just a surface-level stat. On paper, it is the fifth-easiest in the NFL. When you dig into who those teams really are, it becomes a lot less easy. 

Home Team (9): Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals (in Madrid)

Away Team (8): Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders

International Game Already Set

The Falcons learned on Tuesday night that they will square off with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid. The matchup will take place on November 8th (Week 9) at the iconic Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid C.F. in La Liga, at 9:30 AM Eastern time on NFL Network. 

These two teams have not faced off since 2022. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-17 Cincinnati win. The Falcons have lost the last three times these teams have played.

Educated Guesses

With the Falcons coming off eight straight losing seasons and ushering in their fourth new head coach since the start of the decade, there isn't much hype heading into the season. However, we can reasonably speculate that the Falcons will face the Saints on Monday Night Football in September and the Browns on Thursday Night Football. 

This season marks the 20th anniversary of the iconic “Domecoming” game between the Falcons and Saints. The original game was played on September 25, 2006, marking the Saints’ return to the Superdome for the first time after Hurricane Katrina. It was an amped up crowd that night, and the game did not go well for the Falcons. They lost that on Monday Night Football by a final of 23-3, and it was punctuated by a blocked punt from Steve Gleason. 

Week 3 coincides with that anniversary, and the NFL loves itself a storyline. 

Meanwhile, Kevin Stefanski will also be returning to Cleveland this season, a place where he served as head coach from 2020 to 2025. Plugging that game into a prime-time window could make sense, but only if it airs on Thursday night. 

What We Know

• The Falcons will play the Bengals in Madrid during Week 9
• The NFC South is paired up with the AFC and NFC North this season
• The Falcons will have a total of eight home games, eight road games, and one international game as the designated home team
• The Falcons played in five primetime games last season (Vikings, Bills, 49ers, Buccaneers, and Rams), but will likely get only one or two this season. 

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