5 things to know before tonight’s Packers at Falcons kickoff

Falcons coach Dan Quinn said the team completed a good week of practice for the Packers and are ready for the opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Video by D. Orlando Ledbetter

Here are 5 things to mull over before tonight’s 8:30 p.m. kickoff between the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons (1-0) and the Green Bay Packers (1-0) in the first regular-season game at the plush $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

1. ON THE HOT SEAT: New starting right guard Wes Schweitzer is on the hot seat. He'll face the Packers massive defensive tackles Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark, who are fresh off of their dismantling of the interior of Seattle's offensive line. "I'm just going to go out there and play," Schweitzer said. Right tackle Ryan Schraeder and quarterback Matt Ryan have Schweitzer's back. "Wes will be fine," Ryan said.

2. HATING ON THE SECONDARY: The Falcons are favored to beat the Green Bay Packers by 2 ½ points. One scout, who spoke with Bob McGinn of BobMcGinnFootball.com sees a close game, much like the 33-32 shootout the teams played last regular season on Oct 30, 2016. "Green Bay will put up points and make it close. Atlanta's secondary isn't very good," the scout told McGinn.

3. RADIO AND TELEVISION: NBC will televise the game with Al Michaels handling the play-by-play and Cris Collinsworth proving color commentary. Michele Tafoya will be the sideline reporter.  Locally, 92.9 The Game will air the game: Play-by-Play: Wes Durham. Color Analyst: Dave Archer. Sideline: John Michaels. Producer: Beau "Squid Billy" Morgan. The Pregame show hosted by Mike Conti and Randy McMichael starts at 6:30 p.m.

4. NFL OFFICIAL CREW: Anderson Crew -- R: Walt Anderson (66). FJ: John Jenkins (117). U: Carl Paganelli (124) . SJ:Laird Hayes (125). HL: Jerod Phillips (6) BJ: Greg Wilson (119). LJ: Byron Boston (18) / RO: Billy Smith. Anderson is a former dentist and has been an NFL official since 1996. He's worked two Super Bowls and was the "deflategate" official. Boston is the father of former NFL wide wide receiver David Boston, who played at Ohio State, and former NFL agent Alicia Boston.

5. SERIES HISTORY: This is the 29th regular-season meeting. The Packers lead the series 15-13. In addition to the regular season win last season, the Falcons thumped the Pack 44-21 in the NFC championship game last season to earn the franchise's second trip to the Super Bowl.