America, get ready to learn you some Atlanta Falcons football.
The NFC South’s finest will be taking the field each of the next three weeks in primetime, starting this Thursday against a similarly hapless Green Bay Packers squad. That game will be followed up by a Monday Night Football affair against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, and then a Sunday Night Football tilt against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5.
For a team that hasn’t put together a single drive that entered the opposing team’s red zone through two weeks, that doesn’t exactly bode well for the entertainment value of these games. And Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo made sure to let the NFL schedule makers who made these decisions hear it during Wednesday’s episode of First Take.
.@MadDogUnleashed sounds OFF on the Falcons’ primetime run 😅 pic.twitter.com/FWn0lPYinP
— First Take (@FirstTake) September 23, 2026
“Atlanta is on TV the next three weeks. They play Green Bay Thursday night, nobody in America wants to see that. They play the Saints, I think that’s a Monday night game, good luck Joe [Buck] and Troy [Aikman]. And then they have the Ravens on the Sunday night, good luck [Cris] Collinsworth and [Mike] Tirico. Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to schedule the Atlanta Falcons three straight times on national television?” an incredulous Russo asked.
Who can blame Mad Dog for complaining?
Our only saving grace is that the Falcons’ quarterback situation seems to be in a much better place entering Week 3 than it was throughout the first two weeks of the season. Atlanta is expected to get both Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa back from injury this week, which should signify an upgrade over Cooper Rush and Jack Strand. Just how much of an upgrade remains to be seen.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.