Atlanta Falcons

An expansion bet in 1965, a $1.6bn home in 2017

The franchise was awarded on 30 June 1965, when the insurance executive Rankin M. Smith Sr paid $8.5m for it — the highest price paid for an NFL club to that point. The Falcons began play in 1966 at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, moved indoors to the Georgia Dome in 1992, and have played downtown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium since it opened on 26 August 2017.

Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, bought the club in 2002 and still owns it. The team colours have remained red, black, silver and white throughout, and red was confirmed as the primary home colour for 2026 when a new kit was unveiled on 2 April, replacing a set that had run for six seasons.

The stadium is the clearest statement of the Blank era. It cost about $1.6bn against an initial estimate of $700m, largely because of the retractable roof: eight translucent triangular panels that slide along parallel rails, a design drawn from the Pantheon in Rome. It seats 71,000 for American football and expands to 75,000 for one-off events. Ringing the bowl is the Halo Board, a video display 58ft deep and 1,100ft around, covering 62,350 square feet — the first of its kind in an American venue, and since copied elsewhere.

Two Super Bowls, no title

The club has six division championships: the NFC West in 1980 and 1998, and the NFC South in 2004, 2010, 2012 and 2016. Both of its Super Bowl appearances came out of those title seasons. The 1998 team reached Super Bowl XXXIII and lost 34–19 to Denver. The 2016 team reached Super Bowl LI and lost 34–28 to New England in overtime, the defeat that still defines the franchise for most neutrals.

The playing history runs through Jamal Anderson's running behind the 1998 side, Michael Vick's years as the most watched quarterback in the league, and then the long stretch built around Matt Ryan at quarterback and Julio Jones at receiver, which produced the 2016 run. Brett Favre was also, briefly, a Falcon — drafted and traded away early, a piece of trivia the club has never quite lived down.

The drought, and the sacking that ended it

Atlanta has not reached the playoffs since the 2017 season. The 2025 campaign ran to form: an 8–9 finish, a 3–2 start, then seven defeats in eight games, a 4–9 low point, and four straight wins to close out a season that no longer mattered. Michael Penix Jr began the year at quarterback before going on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in November; Kirk Cousins took the job for the run-in.

The last of those wins, over New Orleans on 4 January 2026, had a sting in it — the result helped Carolina take the NFC South. Head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot were both relieved of their duties that day. The following day Blank promoted Greg Beadles to chief executive in place of Rich McKay.

The crowds have held up better than the results. The Falcons averaged 70,995 at home in 2025, the tenth-highest figure in the league.

Matt Ryan picks the staff

The most striking appointment came first. Ryan, the quarterback of the 2016 Super Bowl side, was named president of football in January 2026 and ran the search that produced the rest of the leadership: Kevin Stefanski as head coach on 17 January, Ian Cunningham as general manager on 29 January, Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator and Craig Aukerman on special teams. Jeff Ulbrich stayed on to run the defence.

Stefanski is the 20th head coach in club history. He went 45–56 across six seasons at Cleveland and was named Associated Press Coach of the Year twice, in 2020 and 2023. Ryan described the hire as a "lead-by-example leader" with a focus on fundamentals and toughness; Blank said the club had found a coach with the right vision, focus and demeanour.

The roster was rebuilt around Penix's injury. On 9 March the Falcons agreed a one-year deal with Tua Tagovailoa, released by Miami, who still owe him $54m in guaranteed money for 2026, and signed the receiver Jahan Dotson on two years for $15m with $10m guaranteed. The first-round pick had already been traded to Los Angeles, so the draft class began in round two with cornerback Avieon Terrell, followed by receiver Zachariah Branch in round three and linebacker Kendal Daniels in round four.

Where the season actually stands

The opener, at Pittsburgh on 13 September, went 20–13 to the Steelers and cost Atlanta its new quarterback before kick-off: Tagovailoa hurt an oblique in Thursday's practice, leaving Cooper Rush, a ninth-year veteran, to start on a few days' notice. Rush completed 12 of 22 for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and was sacked four times. T.J. Watt read a dump-off to the running back, plucked the ball out of the air and scored. Aaron Rodgers, in what he has said is his 22nd and final season, threw for 221 yards and a touchdown to Pat Freiermuth.

Two things travelled well. Bijan Robinson produced 173 of Atlanta's 238 total yards on 29 touches, forced 12 missed tackles and scored the only Falcons touchdown on a swing pass, moving past Devonta Freeman on the franchise rushing list to 3,993 career yards. And Ulbrich's defence held Pittsburgh to 264 yards and three conversions from 13 third downs — run defence having been the stated priority of the offseason. A.J. Terrell broke up a pass, hurt a shoulder, came back, and shared a regular-season field with his younger brother Avieon for the first time.

Stefanski's verdict was flat: it is difficult to win away from home with mistakes, meaning the penalties and turnovers. The home opener is Carolina on 20 September at 1pm, followed by a Thursday night trip to Green Bay on 24 September. The Falcons also give up a home date on 8 November, when they host Cincinnati in Madrid.

A Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Eight of the nine home fixtures are in Atlanta, and all eight are still ahead: Carolina on 20 September, Baltimore on 11 October in a Sunday night slot at 8.20pm, Chicago on 18 October, San Francisco on 25 October, Kansas City on 15 November, Detroit on 6 December, Tampa Bay in week 16 with the date to be confirmed, and New Orleans on 3 January. The 49ers and Lions games are throwback-kit fixtures; the rest of the home schedule is in the new red.

The building has become the reason a lot of neutrals put a Falcons date in the diary. Stadium Journey scores it 4.0 out of 5 overall, with the atmosphere at 4 and food and drink at a full 5 — the venue's Fans First pricing, set at opening and kept when it went cashless in March 2019, puts hot dogs, nachos, pizza and refillable soft drinks at $2–3 and beer at $5, tax included and priced in whole dollars. The same reviewers are blunt about the flip side: home support rises and falls with the standings, and parking runs beyond $50 when MARTA costs $2.50 each way.

The stadium's profile has grown well beyond the NFL tenant. It hosted Super Bowl LIII in 2019, staged eight matches at the 2026 World Cup including a semi-final, and is booked for Super Bowl LXII in 2028.