The Falcons aren’t going to be a very good team in 2022. Atlanta is going through a rebuild and carrying around record-setting amounts of dead money. However, even bad teams can land primetime games if they’re marketable. The Bills, Bengals, Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, Patriots, Steelers, Rams, and 49ers all have five primetime games in 2022, which is the maximum amount.
However, nobody is confusing the Cowboys, Eagles, Patriots, and Steelers with Super Bowl contenders. Those are just teams the league knows will attract fans. Dallas and New England, in particular, are national brands who haven’t been serious threats in the postseason for some time — the Patriots more so because of Tom Brady — but consistently headline the NFL’s biggest games. The Falcons just don’t have that sort of following.
Like last year, Atlanta will only have one primetime matchup this season, which will come against the Panthers on Thursday Night Football. However, given the league’s ability to flex games in-season, the Falcons could get another primetime game. They would likely have to be more competitive than 7-10 to do so, though.
For a bit of comedic relief, though, the Falcons will actually have two primetime games. The other one is coming during the preseason. Six preseason games will air on national television, and Atlanta’s matchup against the Jets will be on ESPN following a week of joint practices.
The Falcons are still a couple of years away from relevancy, but at least we get to watch the Dirty Birds during the preseason. That’s a bit sarcastic, but there are silver linings. We will get to see a slew of young Falcons in action — Desmond Ridder, Drake London, etc.
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Photographer: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire
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