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The Atlanta Falcons will play in England next season, ready for Covid, giving up a home game to do so.
However, the Falcons will be the nominal home team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October, where they will play a team outside of the NFC South.
Outside of their NFC South rivals, the Lions are among Atlanta’s hometown opponents for 2021, as well as the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Football Team.
The Falcons count on the brilliant Julio Jones (right) as a wide receiver, who is capable of anything.
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Atlanta selected quarterback Matt Ryan in 2008 to replace disgraced Michael Vick
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Despite the increase in regular season games from 16 to 17, like all NFC teams, Atlanta will play its 17th game on the road in 2021.
Atlanta was supposed to play the Denver Broncos as one of four games last season as a road team at Tottenham.
But due to the pandemic, the NFL put a hold on its international program for a season.
Atlanta has played a regular season game in England before.
They launched a 21-0 lead at halftime at Wembley in 2014 against the Detroit Lions, only to lose 22-21 thanks to Matt Prater’s field goal in the final second.
New head coach Arthur Smith watches players during a pro day practice last month
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The Falcons expect 2021 to be an improvement over last year, which started off with a 0-5 start.
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Last season, the Falcons, who blew a 28-3 lead over the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, finished last in their division with a 4-12 record.
It was a season of changes with head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff relieved of their duties in October after a 0-5 start.
Raheem Morris took over as interim coach and the 38-year-old Arthur Smith was named the franchise’s 18th coach after the former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator assumed his first head coaching job in January.
They pick fourth place in the draft, which begins later this month.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted the Carolina Panthers v Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019
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The NFL schedule will be announced in May. It is unclear how many games will be hosted abroad.
This week, in a conference call, Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that the NFL is planning full stadiums with the season just five months away.
“All of us in the NFL want to see each of our fans back,” Goodell said.
“Soccer just isn’t the same without the fans and we hope to have full stadiums in the 2021 season.”
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