Falcons 2007 opponents set
By Chris Pika, AF.com
January 2, 2007

The Falcons 2007 schedule of opponents was finalized with the club's third place finish in the NFC South. All but two of the opponents are on a rotational schedule and the only missing parts were who would finish third in both the NFC East and NFC North.

Atlanta, who teamed with Carolina and Tampa Bay to create the newly-formed NFC South in 2002, play home-and-home with each of their divisional rivals (six games), four teams from another NFC division (NFC West in 2007) on a rotating three-year cycle (four games), four teams from an AFC division (AFC South in 2007) on a rotating four-year cycle (four contests) and two intraconference games based on the prior year's standings against teams in the two NFC divisions (NFC East and NFC North in 2007) the Falcons are not scheduled to play that season.

Outside of the six NFC South division games, the Falcons will face San Francisco and Seattle (NFC West), Houston and Indianapolis (AFC South) and the N.Y. Giants (third in the NFC East) at home. On the road, Atlanta will travel to Arizona and St. Louis (NFC West), Jacksonville and Tennessee (AFC South) and Minnesota (third in the NFC North).

Click here for future Falcons opponents in 2008 and 2009.

Atlanta's 2007 opponents have a combined record of 99-109 (.476). Atlanta will play five games against four 2006 playoff clubs (two vs. New Orleans, one each vs. Seattle, Indianapolis and the N.Y. Giants).

2007 Home Games: Carolina, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Indianapolis and N.Y. Giants
2007 Road Games: Carolina, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Arizona, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Minnesota

The 2007 regular season schedule (dates and times) is traditionally announced by the league sometime in mid-April prior to the NFL Draft.

Here is a breakdown of the 2007 opponents:

NFC SOUTH

Carolina (8-8, 2nd place): The Panthers rebounded from a 0-2 start, including an opening day 20-6 loss to the Falcons in Charlotte on Sept. 10, to win their next four for a 4-2 mark. Carolina then lost six of their next eight as they slipped to 6-8 before they beat the Falcons, 10-3 in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 24 and beat the Saints on the road to capture second place in the division.

New Orleans (10-6, 1st place): The Saints were the surprise of the NFC in 2006 as they captured the NFC South title and a first round bye in the NFC Playoffs. New Orleans swept the season series from the Falcons, 23-3 in the Louisiana Superdome on Sept. 25 and 31-13 in the Georgia Dome on Nov. 26.

Tampa Bay (4-12, 4th place): The Bucs lost their first four games, including a 14-3 decision to the Falcons on Sept. 17 in Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay also had losing streaks of three and four games during the season and Atlanta swept the season series with a 17-6 victory in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 10.

NFC WEST

Arizona (5-11, fourth place): The Cardinals opened their new stadium in Glendale with a 34-27 victory over San Francisco and then dropped their next eight contests. Included in that streak was a 32-10 loss to the Falcons in the Georgia Dome on Oct. 1. The Cards finished the season with victories in four of their last seven games. The Falcons will visit Arizona for the first time since a 34-14 Atlanta victory on Sept. 30, 2001 in Sun Devil Stadium.

St. Louis (8-8, 2nd place): The Rams had an up-and-down season, but stayed in the NFC playoff hunt until the next-to-last day of the regular season thanks to a three-game win streak that evened their season record. This will be the first meeting between the teams since the NFC Divisional Playoff game on Jan. 15, 2005, when the Falcons won big, 47-17 to advance to the NFC Championship Game. It will also be the first regular season game vs. St. Louis since a 2003 road game.

San Francisco (7-9, 3rd place): The 49ers started off 2-5 before a three-game win streak evened their record after 10 games. San Francisco promptly lost three straight and finished with victories in two of their final three games, including a 26-23 overtime win at Denver that knocked the Broncos out of the AFC playoff picture. This will be the first meeting between the old NFC West rivals since the 2004 opener when the Falcons won on the road, 21-19. The clubs have not played in Atlanta since 2001 in the final year that the Falcons were members of the NFC West.

Seattle (9-7, 1st place): The Seahawks captured the NFC West thanks in large part to an 8-4 start. Seattle limped home with losses in three of their last four games. The Falcons will play Seattle for the first time since 2005 while the clubs have not played in the Georgia Dome since 2002.

AFC SOUTH

Houston (6-10, 4th place): The Texans, after an 0-3 start, won three of their final five games to finish with six victories - four more than Houston had in 2005. The Texans upset playoff-bound Indianapolis, 27-24 in Houston on Dec. 24 and swept division rival Jacksonville. This will be only the second all-time meeting between the teams and the first in the Georgia Dome.

Indianapolis (12-4, 1st place): The Colts won their fourth consecutive division title. Much like 2005, when Indy won their first 13 games, the Colts captured their first nine contests. The clubs have not played since 2003 and have not met in the Georgia Dome since a 28-21 Falcons victory on Dec. 6, 1998.

Jacksonville (8-8, 4th place): The Jaguars stood at 8-5 with three weeks remaining, but a three-game losing streak to Tennessee, New England and Kansas City kept Jacksonville out of the AFC Playoffs. This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the teams and the first in Jacksonville in the regular season since 1996. The Falcons won the last game in the Georgia Dome, 21-14 in the 2003 season finale on Dec. 28 in Wade Phillips final game as Atlanta head coach.

Tennessee (8-8, 3rd place): The Titans, behind rookie QB Vince Young, were the AFC's biggest story line of the second half. Tennessee had a six-game win streak, including victories over playoff-bound Philadelphia, the N.Y. Giants and Indianapolis down the stretch as they overcame a season-opening five-game losing streak and a 2-7 overall start. This will be the third meeting against the Titans since the team left Houston and the first regular season meeting in Tennessee since 1999.

NFC EAST

N.Y. Giants (8-8, 3rd place): The Giants used a five-game win streak to finish the first half 6-2, including a 27-14 victory over the Falcons in the Georgia Dome on Oct. 15. New York had a second half slide as they dropped six of their last eight, but their 34-28 road victory at Washington on Dec. 30 gave the Giants the last NFC playoff berth as one of three NFC East teams to qualify for postseason play. This will be the second consecutive season that the Giants visit the Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

NFC NORTH

Minnesota (6-10, 3rd place): The Vikings started strong with two straight victories and a 4-2 mark in late October. Minnesota then lost eight of their last 10 games to fall out of the NFC playoff picture. This will be the first game vs. the Vikings since a 30-10 Falcons victory in the Georgia Dome on Oct. 2, 2005. The clubs have not played in the Metrodome since Atlanta's 30-24 overtime victory on Dec. 1, 2002 - a game in which QB Michael Vick ran for an NFL QB record 173 yards on 10 carries, including the game-winning 46-yard TD run in OT.