FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons will take on the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 8:20 p.m. ET, the NFL announced Tuesday.
The Week 17 game was a flex game on the schedule that could be played on either Saturday or Sunday. Ultimately, the league locked in this matchup for prime time.
This matchup will mark the second Sunday night game for the Falcons this season. In Week 3, Atlanta hosted the Kansas City Chiefs and narrowly fell 22-17 to the defending Super Bowl champions.
Both the Falcons (7-7) and Commanders (9-5) are vying for playoff spots in the NFC. Atlanta is in a competitive race in the NFC South, currently a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Commanders aim to lock in one of three wild card spots as the Philadelphia Eagles lead the NFC East.
It's possible the winner of this matchup could be the final wild card team as the Falcons are also competing for the spot two games behind Washington. The Commanders have the Eagles (12-2) and Dallas Cowboys (6-8) left on their schedule in addition to the Falcons. Meanwhile, Atlanta will on the New York Giants (2-12) and the Carolina Panthers (3-11) at home in between its final road game against the Commanders.
The Falcons and head coach Raheem Morris will take on a familiar face in Commanders head coach Dan Quinn. Quinn was Falcons head coach for five full seasons and led the Falcons to its second NFC Championship victory in 2016. Morris was on Quinn's staff for his entire tenure in Atlanta before taking over as interim head coach in 2020 after the Falcons parted ways with Quinn five games into the season.
It will also be a familiar environment for quarterback Kirk Cousins, who spent the first six seasons of his career in Washington after he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Cousins previously returned to face Washington in 2022, earning a 20-17 victory.
Atlanta has met Washington in each of the last three seasons, losing all three contests by one possession. Its last win against the Commanders came during the 2018 season. They'll look to break the three-game streak on "Sunday Night Football."
