Dirty Bird December: Could Falcons Play On Christmas Day?
For years Christmas has belonged to the NBA, with its "unofficial" tip-off to the season featuring 12 hours of games. But this year Christmas falls on Sunday, so ... Santa will have lots of competition.
The NFL plans to maximize this opportunity for home-bound viewers by airing a triple-header on Dec. 25 for the first time in league history.
There will be two afternoon games - on CBS and Fox - before NBC hosts a prime-time matchup. That week will also feature the regular Thursday night game on Dec. 22, 11 games on Dec. 24, plus a Monday night matchup Dec. 26.
“Christmas, when it falls on an NFL game day, we’ve had a lot of success there, all due respect to our friends at the NBA. It is something that our friends are interested in,” NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North told WGR radio host Sal Capaccio this week. “If Christmas falls on a Sunday, it makes perfect sense.”
The NFL has played 27 games on Christmas, but never a triple-header menu. Last year's Packers-Browns game was the third-most watched game of the regular season.
This year’s matchups will be announced the week of May 9.
The Atlanta Falcons have never payed on Christmas, but could be in the mix with several high-profile rivalries that could get the special holiday treatment.
How does the scheduling format work?
Six games are made up from their NFC South opponents (home and away). Four are against teams from another division within the conference (rotating three-year cycle), with four being played against teams from an AFC division (rotating four-year cycle). Two games are played within NFC, based on the standings of the prior year. And finally one game will be played against an AFC team, also based on the prior year.
Good news: Atlanta will have nine home games because in the first season of the 17-game format, the Falcons had nine on the road.
Since Atlanta finished third in the NFC South, it will play the third-place schedule.
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The 2022 opponents:
Home: Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears.
Road: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders
Will one of those teams draw the Falcons on Christmas? We'll find out in the coming weeks.
