NFC Team: Atlanta Falcons Rivalries and Recent Updates
The Atlanta Falcons are the official football team of Atlanta. The Falcons participate in the NFL (National Football League) as a part of the south division of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC).
Image Credit: twitter.com/@Saints
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The Atlanta Falcons was established in 1965. The current owner is Arthur Blank. The Falcons took part in the NFL for the first time as an expansion team in 1965. The team members have participated in the Super Bowls two times. The team has several rivals. Some of the rivalries with the other teams in Football are mentioned below:
New Orleans Saints
From 1970 till the present, the Atlanta Falcons have had a match with the New Orleans Saints. It resulted in a bitter rivalry between these two teams. They had been the two leading NFL teams in the Deep South for a long time. This rivalry is among the oldest and most known in the National Football Conference South. Atlanta is the leading team in the series by 52–48.
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The rivalry between the Saints and the Falcons started in 1967 after the Saints took their entry to the National Football League as an expansion team while the Falcons were a part of the league for a year. The rivalry between these teams intensified when they turned out to be division opponents in 1970, which gave them a chance to play two times every season. That year, the two teams became a part of NFC’s West Division.
Carolina Panthers
The Atlanta Falcons also shares a rivalry with Carolina Panthers. Both the football teams have been in the National Football Conference West. The rivalry existed since the year of establishment of the Panthers in 1995 to the realignment of the National Football League in 2002. The Panthers became a part of the National Football Conference South since then. The Falcons have led the series by 27–17.
Carolina had its first regular season game as a contested match which resulted in an overtime loss of 23–20 to the Atlanta Falcons in September 1995. Carolina and Atlanta played against each other for the first time at Ericsson Stadium, now known as Bank of America Stadium, in 1996. In this match, the Panthers had a victory. The Panthers had their victory against the Falcons in the first three years with a 4-2 score over the Falcons till the Falcons evened it by a 5-5 score.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After the realignment of the NFL in 2002, the Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers turned out to be rivals. Tampa Bay had been a part of the AFC West before. They were also a part of the NFC Central before 2002.
Philadelphia Eagles
The rivalry between the Eagles and the Falcons started when the Falcons led a rally in the fourth quarter in the Wild Card Round of 1978. The rivalry became intense in the 2000s. The Eagles are the leading team with 21–15–1. The Eagles have a lead of 3–1 in playoff games. However, in the 2017 divisional round, the Eagles emerged victorious over defeating the Falcons.
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