Going into Atlanta’s Thursday night football matchup against the Green Bay Packers in Week Three, new head coach Kevin Stefanski seemed calm. Even with the chaos surrounding his team and their inconsistent quarterback play, he was calm in a way that made it seem that he knew something we didn’t. The return of Michael Penix Jr., yes, but there was also something else. His 5-0 Thursday Night Football record.
The Atlanta Falcons, for their part, had become a prime-time surprise. In the last three seasons, they’ve either won or had competitive primetime games, including a 17-22 near-win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football and a win against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. The national media complained about the Falcons’ primetime schedule this season, but over the last three years, they’ve shown up. The pairing of Stefanski and the Falcons looks like primetime magic.
On paper, Stefanski seemed like the perfect coach for the Falcons for three reasons. He’s won Coach of the Year twice with the Cleveland Browns; he’s considered a quarterback guru; and he wins on Thursday night, one of the three primetime slots.
Coming into Atlanta, Stefanski had a 58.3% primetime winning percentage. His 5-0 Thursday Night Football record in Cleveland undoubtedly boosts that percentage. Before last Thursday, his prime-time record was 7-5, meaning he’d won only two outside of Thursday night.
Over that same span, the Falcons went 8-6, with their wins coming on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights.
In 2024, the Falcons lost a Sunday night game in Atlanta to the Chiefs, 22-17, after the referee missed pass interference on Kyle Pitts in the end zone. And though the Falcons lost that game, that was the year that the league trusted them with five primetime games, and they did not disappoint.
Despite losing in the final moments to the Chiefs, the Falcons won a 22-21 nail-biter in Philadelphia on Monday night the week before, beating division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night. In a 36-30 overtime win, they beat the Raiders in a disgusting 15-9 slop fest on Monday night in December and took fellow 2024 first-round quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders into overtime, losing 24-30 on Sunday night football.
The Falcons performed so well on primetime in 2024, with a 3-2 record that doesn’t accurately reflect how well they competed, that the league entrusted them with another five primetime games for 2025.
The Falcons earned a convincing 22-6 Sunday Night Football win over J.J. McCarthy and the Vikings behind a dominant defensive performance, then battled MVP Josh Allen and the Bills to a 24-24 Monday night tie in one of their best performances of the season.
Atlanta wasn’t as successful in San Francisco, falling 20-10 as Christian McCaffrey ran through the defense and linebacker Divine Deablo suffered a fractured left forearm.
December brought Deablo’s return and more primetime success. Atlanta edged Tampa Bay 29-28 despite a penalty-filled night before earning a 27-24 Monday night win over the Rams. The latter could have been a statement victory had the Falcons not already been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Falcons under Stefanski have teamed up for their first primetime win, against the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay in Week Three. A decisive 35-14 win that they managed to achieve with the return of their starting quarterback. The Falcons and Stefanski will have a chance to improve their combined prime-time record against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. It’s a tall order, but this team-coach combination has shown they’re up to the task.
