There is an old saying about quarterbacking: if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. The Atlanta Falcons have four quarterbacks, which means they have negative two quarterbacks? And before you tell me that my math is stupid, please note that so far Cooper Rush leads the NFL with four interceptions, which is a pretty big negative, while Jack Strand is 6-4 and 243 pounds, which also makes him a literal big negative.
The Falcons also have Tua Tagovailoa, who has an oblique injury, and
let’s be honest, probably a concussion, along with a likely ego hit at not being the starter. And then there’s Michael Penix, who suffered a season-ending injury in five of his last eight seasons of football, including a torn ACL in November, but has recovered and will be starting on Thursday.
It’s a complete conceptual disaster. If I wanted a quarterback room to fail, this is the kind of thing I’d put together. Jack Strand doesn’t really matter because he’s just a longshot developmental prospect, but Tua is too established to be a backup, and excels at the short passing game due to a pop-gun arm and quick release. Rush, while terrible so far, is a good enough backup to garner the support of talk radio rubes everywhere. And Penix is an elite athlete when healthy, having posted a 9.75 RAS, and he excels as a deep passer, but he’s never healthy, and the Falcons aren’t really built for deep passing. Drake London is a great player, but he excels at short and intermediate routes, while every other Atlanta receiver of note is one of the teeniest, tiniest cute little guys in the league.
Olamide Zaccheaus too!
It’s not a crime to be small, but Penix was at his best in college throwing to larger vertical threats like Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk, and that is not what we have here. The Falcons do have Kyle Pitts, and maybe he’s the real wide receiver two on this team. To his credit, he had a nice rebound season last year after being a perpetual disappointment, but he only averaged 10.5 yards per catch. Bijan Robinson is of course the best player on the offense, and he can help out any quarterback, but at some point, you need to pass.
I think Tua is objectively the best choice if you can get him on the field and keep him on the field, but he’s also objectively not the future as a 28-year-old who is one concussion away from never playing again. And Penix cost the team draft capital, so they have every incentive to make him work, although he is every bit as injury-prone as Tua, hence the need to keep Rush around.
More than anything, you will probably get a different Atlanta team every time you play them based on who is behind center, which isn’t that different from last year. In 2025, this team beat the Bills and Rams (and almost the Pats) but also lost to the Jets and Dolphins. So far, with Rush at the helm, the Falcons have not run a single offensive play in the red zone over their first two games. And while Penix is kind of a weird fit (phrasing, I know), they probably won’t be quite as atrocious on Thursday, especially as Thursday produces weird results generally, and the Packers aren’t exactly the picture of health.
Green Bay should win this game, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beginning to a season that is less predictive in terms of what is about to happen, and the weird, bizarre, dysfunctional Falcons QB room makes predicting them a nightmare. The Packers and their terrible guards played against the 80% blitz Vikings, and in terrible weather in New York. The Falcons haven’t had a healthy starting quarterback to run their new offense with their new head coach (Kevin Stefanski replacing Raheem Morris). But I suppose with Penix, who is the intended starter, this game should be a relatively “normal” (other than taking place on Thursday). And other than Za’Darius Smith almost definitely getting a revenge sack, Let’s see how the Packers react to “normal.”
