Atlanta Falcons: Five Things We Learned From the Falcons Schedule

5. Falcons Get Bye At Perfect Time Of the Season

The Falcons will have their bye on week 9. This is the perfect time of the year to take a week off to rest up and let your players heal. The bye will come after two home games against the Rams and Seahawks. With a smattering of tough games in 7 of the 8 weeks, this bye will catch the Falcons at the right time. The bye will lead into November, which as noted above, will be a vital month to the Falcons NFC South and playoff aspirations. The team has to get themselves into a good position coming into the bye but if the Falcons can do that, this bye sets the team up nicely for the second half of the season.

In 2016, the year the Falcons made the Super Bowl, the bye week fell on week 11. The Falcons came into their bye with a 6-4 record. After the bye, the Falcons won 5 of their next 6 which led to the momentum that helped the Falcons make the Super Bowl that season.

However, the bye week coming in the middle of the season doesn’t always promise success. Last season, the Falcons had their bye on week 8. The Falcons went on to lose 5 of their last 9 games after their bye. The bye doesn’t always signal good things to come after but with the way the schedule is set up in the first half of the season, the bye week will be met with great approval from the players and coaches.