Falcons to open season at home against Saints

8 p.m. Aug. 16 (Sat.), at Houston

7 p.m. Aug. 23 (Sat.), vs. Tennessee

6 p.m. Aug. 28 (Thu.), at Jacksonville

Regular season

1 p.m. Sept. 7, vs. New Orleans

1 p.m. Sept. 14, at Cincinnati

8:25 p.m. Sept. 18 (Thu.), vs. Tampa Bay (CBS)

4:25 p.m. Sept. 28, at Minnesota

1 p.m. Oct. 5, at New York Giants

1 p.m. Oct. 12, vs. Chicago

1 p.m. Oct. 19, at Baltimore

9:30 a.m. Oct. 26, vs. Detroit (London)

Nov. 2, Bye week

1 p.m. Nov. 9, at Tampa Bay

1 p.m. Nov. 16, at Carolina

1 p.m. Nov. 23, vs. Cleveland

4:05 p.m. Nov. 30, vs. Arizona

8:30 p.m. Dec. 8 (Mon.), at Green Bay (ESPN)

1 p.m. Dec. 14, vs. Pittsburgh

1 p.m. Dec. 21, at New Orleans

1 p.m. Dec. 28, vs. Carolina

The Falcons’ offseason grit-and-toughness campaign will get tested early by the 2014 schedule, which was released by the NFL on Wednesday night.

In a rematch of last season’s opener, the Falcons will their face arch-rival New Orleans Saints to kick off the regular season at 1 p.m. Sept. 7 at the Georgia Dome.

After facing the Saints, the Falcons travel to play the rugged Cincinnati Bengals, who came to the team’s facility last training camp and put a physical whipping on the team, foreshadowing a tough season in the trenches in 2013.

After finishing 4-12 and in last place in the NFC South last season, the Falcons have only two nationally televised games, after appearing five times on national TV last season.

The Falcons will host Tampa Bay at 8:25 p.m. Sept. 18 (a Thursday) on CBS and play at Green Bay at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 8 (a Monday) on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”

The league previously announced that the Falcons’ home game against Detroit will be played at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

“I believe (playing early) is a new thing for the NFL: breakfast with the Falcons,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Everybody gets an opportunity to eat breakfast. If they want to do their tailgating, they need to stay up all night.”

The Falcons have their bye week at the halfway point of the season, after playing eight games.

The Falcons also dodged some potential rough-weather games. They’ll play at Minnesota on Sept. 28, in the fourth game of the season. The Vikings are playing in the University of Minnesota’s outdoor stadium while their stadium is under construction. Potentially cold-weather games at New York and at Baltimore will be played on Oct. 5 and Oct. 19.

The final quarter of the season appears rather daunting. After facing Green Bay, the Falcons will play host to Pittsburgh, play at New Orleans and play host to Carolina, the defending NFC South champions, in the regular-season finale.

The Falcons’ opener against the Saints will be a heated rematch.

In a controversial game last season, the Saints defeated the Falcons 23-17 in the Superdome in coach Sean Payton’s return from his “Bounty Gate” suspension. But that game will be remembered for a dropped touchdown pass by running back Steven Jackson and a big hit that Saints rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro put on quarterback Matt Ryan.

Over the offseason, owner Arthur Blank said he thought some of the Falcons should have rushed to Ryan’s defense. Blank wasn’t calling for a fight, but a shove in the chest would have acceptable.

That non-reaction led several national broadcasters to dub the Falcons as “soft.”

This offseason, the Falcons have worked to get tougher. The front office spent $80.5 million on guard Jon Asamoah ($22.5 million), defensive tackle Paul Soliai ($33 million) and defensive end Tyson Jackson ($25 million) in free agency. General manager Thomas Dimitroff touted the grit and toughness they collectively bring to the team.

“Toughness is a word that has many, many definitions,” Smith said. “You have to be mentally tough. You have to be physically tough. You have to resilient as a football player.”

The Falcons also will have a chance to add players to their offensive and defensive lines during the draft, which is set for May 8-10.

“We need to have big, strong men because … the game is about controlling the line of scrimmage,” Smith said. “Yes, it’s a quarterback-driven league. Yes, it’s a passing league. But you still have to win the line of scrimmage. That’s something that’s going to be a major focal point for our football team as we prepare for the 2014 season.”