Seahawks to play season opener vs Falcons in front of no fans

While it appears to be a foregone conclusion that there won’t be fans in the stands during the 2020 NFL season—don’t tell Jerry Jones—some teams are yet to make it official. Others, such as the Packers, are taking it slowly, announcing a no fans policy for just the first two games to start the season.

Though the Seahawks are yet to make any decision for their home games—though it could be made for them—we now know they’ll at least play Week 1 in an empty stadium. The Atlanta Falcons, scheduled to host Seattle in the first week of the season on September 13, announced on Monday that they would follow Green Bay and not allow any fans in the stadium through at least September.

In total, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium will remain empty for at least five games: two Falcons home games, against the Bears and Seahawks, and three home games for Atlanta United of MLS.

Atlanta’s decision is the correct one and a decision we can certainly expect most teams to soon follow. For Seattle, a season unlike any other will begin in an empty 71,000-seat stadium.