Atlanta Falcons 2020 NFL schedule: 5 must-win games

The most critical road game for the Falcons outside of NFC South play will be the one in Arlington. As with the home date with the Seattle Seahawks, this game vs. the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium will be between a pair of NFC teams who finished in second place last season in their respective divisions. Unlike Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas didn’t quality for the postseason last year.

Saying Atlanta needs to go 2-0 in the competitive balance part of its schedule is tough, especially with it being a second-place schedule. However, we’ve seen how atrocious the Falcons play against the AFC under Dan Quinn. While Atlanta has done a better job against the AFC West than the other divisions for some reason, anything better than a 2-2 record there would be remarkable.

A way to help Atlanta get above .500 and stay above .500 is to beat a team it’s probably better than in the Cowboys. Matt Ryan is a better quarterback than Dak Prescott, and it’s not like playing on the road in Dallas is the most difficult thing in the world. If Atlanta can get after Prescott, the Falcons can take the crowd out of the game and win this very crucial road game.

Because Seattle is almost always a playoff team during the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll era, we can expect the Seahawks will be one of the seven playoff teams in the NFC next year. Though Atlanta and Dallas could very well be Wild Card teams, the winner of this game at AT&T Stadium will go a long way in deciding who will playing in January and who will not.