The Washington Commanders surprised many around the league by winning double-digit games for the first time since 2012 and coming one victory away from reaching the Super Bowl. Now, there are higher expectations for the squad in the second year of the Jayden Daniels era.

The Commanders will have a tougher schedule this year by virtue of finishing second in the NFC East. Super Bowl contenders like the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions loom later in the year along with talented teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. They will also experience a dramatic increase in travel miles, which includes a trip to Europe to play the Miami Dolphins.

Now that the season is on the horizon, Commanders.com is going to break down each of Washington's opponents. We'll move on to the Atlanta Falcons, who were a fringe playoff team near the end of the 2024 season.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Sept. 28
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Individual stats leaders

• Passing Yards -- QB Kirk Cousins (3,508)
• Passing TDs -- QB Kirk Cousins (18)
• Rushing Yards -- RB Bijan Robinson (1,456)
• Rushing TDs -- RB Bijan Robinson (14)
• Receiving Yards -- WR Drake London (1,271)
• Receiving TDs -- WR Drake London (9)
• Tackles -- LB Kaden Elliss (151)
• Sacks -- LB Arnold Ebiketie (6)
• Interceptions -- S Jessie Bates III (4)

Key additions

• DE Leonard Floyd (free agency)
• LB Divine Deablo (free agency)
• DE Jalon Walker (draft)
• DE James Pearce (draft)
• CB Mike Ford Jr. (free agency)

Key questions

• Will the new faces ignite the pass rush? The Falcons have spent years searching for answers to spark their pass rush. They ranked 31st in sacks last season and have been among the bottom 10 teams since 2017. They haven't had a player finish with double-digit sacks since Vic Beasley in 2016. Pearce and Walker could be the duo to change that. Walker, who racked up All-American and All-SEC awards for Georgia in 2024, was one of the best pass-rushers in the country and paired natural athleticism with a nice arsenal of moves at the line of scrimmage. Pearce was arguably one of the most athletically gifted players in the draft but still needs to develop more moves at the NFL level. The two will likely be immediate contributors on defense, and the Falcons will need them to hit sooner rather than later. Their defense struggled last season, particularly against the pass. Adding two young, talented edge rushers should help fix that.
• What does Michael Penix Jr.'s second season look like? The Falcons made one of the most baffling moves during the 2024 draft by taking Penix after handing Cousins a massive deal in free agency. Penix ended up starting the final three games of the season, though, and showed much of the talent that draft evaluators believed he had in the offseason. He played well in his first start, which resulted in a 34-7 win over the Giants, and he nearly pulled off a win over the Commanders in Week 17. The Falcons are moving forward with Penix as their starter, and it will be interesting to see how he performs with a full offseason as the top option. He certainly has the arm to be in the NFL, but he will need to improve his decision-making to have a long career. The Commanders have won four straight games against the Falcons, but all of them were decided by seven points or fewer. So, expect Penix and Atlanta to give Washington another thrilling afternoon.
• Will the additions be enough to be more competitive with the Buccaneers? The Falcons invested heavily in their defense this offseason to compete against the Buccaneers and their third-ranked offense. Aside from Walker and Pearce, they also added Floyd and Morgan Fox to their defensive front. They brought in Ford to compete for a role in the secondary and provide depth and re-signed cornerback Mike Hughes. The Falcons actually swept the Buccaneers last season, but it required 30-plus points in each matchup to do so. The Falcons theoretically have the offensive tools to compete in the division with the likes of Robinson and Kyle Pitts in the lineup. They also have a solid offensive line that helped them rush for 127 yards per game. However, until a team can find a consistent answer for the Buccaneers' offense, which scored 29.5 points per game last season, the NFC South will run through Tampa Bay, Florida. The Falcons will play the Buccaneers in Week 1, so we'll get an early look at how much their investments were worth.