Atlanta Falcons Playoffs: Who Will ATL Play Next? Packers, Seahawks, Giants Among Potential Opponents

Heading into Wild-Card Weekend, the Atlanta Falcons are one of four teams that don’t know who they’ll be playing in their first game of the 2017 NFL playoffs. With Saturday and Sunday’s games determining Atlanta’s opponent, the most likely scenario is a rematch from Week 6 of the regular season.

The Seattle Seahawks defeated Atlanta 26-24 on Oct. 16 in a controversial finish. Atlanta will get a chance at revenge if the AFC West champions can take care of business Saturday night. A win for the Seahawks over the Detroit Lions would force Seattle to travel to Atlanta in the second round of the postseason.

Seattle is a heavy favorite to defeat Detroit, who backed their way into the playoffs with three losses to end the regular season. If the Lions somehow pull off the upset, they’ll face the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional playoffs, making Sunday afternoon’s NFC game meaningful for Atlanta.

If the Lions are headed to Dallas, that means the Falcons will host either the Green Bay Packers or New York Giants. The two teams will meet at Lambeau Field, where the Packers have already beaten the Giants once this season. Green Bay is a 4.5-point favorite.

The NFC South champs haven’t played New York this season, but they picked up a regular-season victory over Green Bay. In Week 8, the Falcons scored a touchdown with 31 seconds left to defeat the Packers 33-32 in Atlanta.

The Seahawks, Packers and Giants have all won a Super Bowl since 2011.

The Falcons are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2012. They were the top seed in the NFC, losing by four points at home in the NFC Championship Game. As the No. 2 seed this year, Atlanta would play the conference title game at home against any opponent other than Dallas.

Atlanta went 11-5 in the regular season with the possible MVP winner at quarterback. Matt Ryan is the favorite to win the award, having led the league with a 117.1 passer rating. Wide receiver Julio Jones finished second in the NFL with 1,409 receiving yards.

The Falcons have won their last four games, though they’ve actually played better on the road this season. Going 6-2 away from the Georgia Dome, Atlanta is 5-3 at home.