Atlanta Falcons: Top 5 Rivalries Entering 2015

The Atlanta Falcons have certainly ruffled some feathers with other teams in the NFL in their 50-year existence as a franchise.  Whether it’s a team that the Falcons play twice annually or a team that always seems to get under your skin when you play them, the Atlanta Falcons have formed some formidable rivalries over the years.

Rivalries are an important part of the game of football.  Beating a team you flat-out don’t like feels a little better, especially if they got the best of you last time.  Proximity plays a huge part in this as divisional rivalries are now a part of the NFL’s fabric since realignment back in 2002.

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Atlanta has three strong rivalries with their divisional opponents.  The Atlanta Falcons play a home-and-away series with the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers every season.  2002’s realignment to account for the then expansion Houston Texans franchise has provided three biennial meetings between foes that has rapidly accelerated some rivalries.

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Teams like the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks rarely played prior to 2002 due to the ‘Hawks being an AFC team (bet you didn’t remember that, did you?).  Now they have arguably one of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL.

Rivalries grow and manifest in high stakes games where both teams have something on the line.  They aren’t always divisional either.  Look at the AFC rivalry between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.  Both teams are usually the winners of their respective division and play almost biennially because of it.

I’ve been a diehard Atlanta Falcons fan since early elementary school in the late 1990’s.  The Dirty Birds of 1998 taught me how wonderful the National Football League was and I’ve been hooked ever since.  Here are the Top 5 rivalries the Atlanta Falcons have in my opinion.

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