Atlanta Falcons have tough schedule in final Georgia Dome season

FLOWERY BRANCH (TNS) — The schedule was released by the NFL on Thursday for the Atlanta Falcons’ final season in the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons, who started playing in the Georgia Dome in 1992, are scheduled to open play in Mercedes Benz Stadium in 2017.

The Falcons have two prime-time games. Last season the Falcons, who were coming off a 6-10 season, had two prime-time games. They will play at New Orleans at 8:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26 on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” and at Tampa Bay at 8:25 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 on NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football.”

The Falcons will open the season at home against Tampa Bay at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. It will be the return of former coach Mike Smith, the winningest coach in franchise history. He was hired as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator over the offseason.

With the Rams’ move from St. Louis to Los Angeles, the Falcons have additional travel and requested that they have consecutive road games out west. They will play at Denver on Sunday, Oct. 9 and at Seattle the following week on Sunday, Oct. 16.

The Falcons played the AFC South last season and posted a 3-1 record with victories over Houston, Jacksonville and Tennessee. The lone loss was to Indianapolis. The AFC West features the defending Super Bowl champion Denver, Oakland, San Diego and Kansas City, which went to the playoffs last season.

The Falcons swept the NFC East teams last season — Dallas, the New York Giants, Philadelphia and Washington. They’ll face stiffer tests going against the NFC West, which boasts Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Arizona went to the NFC Championship game last season, and Seattle has made four consecutive trips to the playoffs. The Falcons lost to San Francisco last season.

The Falcons and the 49ers have the highest-strength of schedule rating (.555 based on opponents’ records from last season.

The team has seven games against teams that went to the playoffs last season. Carolina (twice), Denver, Kansas City, Arizona, Seattle and Green Bay.

The good news is that the Falcons play 10 games before having their bye week. If they are in contention, that’s a good spot to rest for a final playoff push.