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On Thursday the Atlanta Falcons announced that they will be the “home” team for an October game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, making Atlanta part of the latest edition of the NFL’s International Series.
The exact date of the game won’t be known until the NFL schedule is released in May. But the Falcons have indicated that it will be a non-divisional opponent, meaning that the opposition will be one of the following five teams: the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles or Washington Football Team.
The Falcons have also indicated that season ticket holders will be issued a credit for the “lost” home game once the opponent for the London contest and the 2021 schedule are announced. Likewise, details surrounding access for season ticket holders at the London game “are still being finalized,” according to the Falcons.
Atlanta Last Played in London in 2014
It will be Atlanta’s second time playing in London, as the team also did so six-and-a-half years ago. On October 26, 2014, the Falcons established a 21-0 halftime lead against the Detroit Lions, only to allow 22 unanswered points, with Detroit placekicker Matt Prater converting a 48-yard field goal as time expired. Of course, Prater’s first attempt (from 43 yards) was wide, but he got another chance by virtue of a delay of game penalty on Detroit.
Going forward, all 32 teams will play at least one international game once every eight years, per the NFL. “The scheduling of up to four neutral site games per year in a country outside the United States will focus initially on Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom,” notes the NFL.
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The 2021 Regular Season Schedule Will Include 17 Games
As for the rest of the 2021 schedule, the Falcons will play 17 regular-season games for the first time in history, as earlier this week NFL owners formally approved the adoption of a 17-game regular season. But the total number of games played will remain at 20, with the preseason being reduced to three games.
Two of this year’s preseason games will be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as well as seven regular-season home games.
Meanwhile, the Falcons will play nine regular-season road games (plus one preseason away game) as all NFC teams are playing nine away games this year. Next year the Falcons will get nine regular-season home games, like all of the other NFC teams, with just one preseason home contest.
This year’s so-called 17th game will be at Jacksonville, which might offer the Falcons the chance to go against presumptive No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.
The Falcons Signed Two Players on Thursday
In other news from earlier on Thursday, the Falcons announced that they have re-signed defensive end Steven Means, the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year.
The club also announced the addition of free agent defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (most recently with the Seattle Seahawks) and formally acknowledged the signing of offensive lineman Josh Andrews, which had been previously reported.
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