The Atlanta Falcons lost in embarrassing fashion. The Carolina Panthers have now won four straight against the dirty birds, making Bryce Young a minority owner. Here are the Week 2 snap reactions:
Tommy Rees’ questionable play-calling continues
A Drake London end around on 4th and 1? The Falcons have $100M tied up in the interior, but you’d never know it from calls like that. Cooper Rush isn’t making it easy, but neither is the young coordinator Stefanski brought with him. Things didn’t get much better when Strand came in. Most route concepts were
static and all within 5 yards.
I understand wanting to build confidence, but you can’t neglect areas of the field and make things easier for the defense to cover. Rees is still struggling to get multiple skill players involved. For some reason, Zachariah Branch has been locked in a cage. It’s only been two games, but the Falcons offensive scheme looks worse than the product Zac Robinson put on the field.
Not so special teams
Aukerman and Blackburn aren’t beating the allegations. They had some of the worst units in 2025, and their new operation looks sloppy out of the gate. This unit needed to be competent and not put the team in unfavorable field position, but they can’t get out of their own way.
To make matters worse, Nick Folk looks washed. He hasn’t missed three field goals in a season since 2022 but has hit that mark in just 2 games. This side of the ball isn’t dealing with injuries or other major issues; they have everything they need, but the product is still not up to par. Special teams continues to be a thorn in the Falcons wings.
Defense is being stretched thin
Ulbrich’s defense started strong, but offensive turnovers kept putting them against the wall. To make matters worse, AJ Terrell left early in the 1st quarter and didn’t return. Without complementary play from offense or special teams, it doesn’t matter how good the defense starts. They were gashed on the final drive of the first half, and that carried over to the first drive of the second half.
While the other sides of the ball haven’t done their job, this secondary was lauded as the team’s strength, especially the safety duo of Jessie Bates III and Xaiver Watts, but they haven’t looked like it. Hopefully Terrell is ready for Green Bay, because his absence became increasingly noticeable as the game progressed.
Jack Strand (not his fault)
Strand threaded the needle on his first pass with a laser to Dotson, who couldn’t hold on to the ball, leading to a pick-six. You can’t make this stuff up. He ended his day with an untouched fumble while trying to throw the ball. All that being said, this offense still would’ve been more viable with him from the start than Cooper Rush. He offered more with his legs and arm than the veteran, and you can live with turnovers from your UDFA rookie.
In a perfect world, Strand would’ve been allowed to sit as long as possible, but we don’t live in that world. With a quick turnaround heading into Thursday Night Football, it’s possible Strand could be seen again if Penix and Tua remain unavailable.
This is a miserable product. I haven’t heard boos this loud through the broadcast in a long time, but don’t worry, your Falcons play in 4 days. Surely that’s enough time to fix this mess.
