Atlanta made a bunch of moves this offseason to turn over the roster, none of them designed to be franchise-altering. Instead, they looked to lift their floor, lock up the players they want around for the long term, and carefully avoided parting with too much draft capital or cap space in 2027. They wanted to walk the line between contending in 2026 and then making a splash next season, an admirable goal that hasn’t worked out well for these Falcons in the past several seasons.
Through two weeks,
that gamble looked awful. Michael Penix Jr. had not returned, Tua Tagovailoa was injured, and Cooper Rush was submarining the offense. The line was struggling, the defense was gouged for a few big plays, A.J. Terrell got hurt, and the normally reliable Nick Folk was missing kicks. Had the Falcons lost on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers, we would’ve been justified in declaring their hopes of contention in 2026 as unjustified and started resigning ourselves to daydreaming about 2027. After all, only seven 0-3 teams have ever made the playoffs.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, the Falcons few believed in got back the injured quarterback nearly everyone was criticizing and beat the hell out of the Packers. They started slow enough to make us concerned the same old Falcons were on the field, but after a 7-7 first quarter with a turnover and some puttering on offense and defense, Atlanta outscored Green Bay on Lambeau Field 28-7 the rest of the way. They turned Jordan Love into a pressure-pulped pumpkin. They turned Green Bay’s talented defense into a sieve. They held the Packers to the fewest rushing yards this franchise has ever allowed.
It was, as Mike Conti with 92.9 The Game noted, their largest margin of victory since 2019 against a struggling but still talented team that has had very recent success. The Falcons needed multiple things to click into place for this to be so lopsided, but for once a team that promised corrections actually delivered them, with the return of Penix proving to be decisive. All the talent and all the promise were on that football field working as a whole in a way we just haven’t seen consistently, and it’s a credit to this team from top to bottom that instead of sinking into the muck after their two losses, they’re now 1-2 and riding high.
I don’t know what to expect for 2026 now, both because the last three weeks have a been a roller coaster and because there have been such extreme lows and highs to consider. What I do know is that just showing the ability to do something like this is truly encouraging, and doing it on the road and under the lights with a quarterback just returning to game action after 10 months away from his last start is even more so. May they build, at long last, and let this be much more than one joyous game in a sea of mediocrity. Let 2026 be more than just a prelude to 2027, in the end, and the start of something special.
On to the full recap.
The Good
- Bijan Robinson is heading toward an all-time great career. With Michael Penix Jr. wilting early, the Falcons got a break on a roughing the passer call and Bijan took over. He got one good block from Charlie Woerner, hit the sidelines, and then cut back inside and made multiple defenders miss before plowing through them to the five yard line for a 68 yard run. After one unproductive carry, he then then cut inside and jogged into the end zone for a score. Bijan was just warming up, too. After that, all he did was rush for another touchdown, a total of 194 yards, and chip in two grabs for 19 yards on top of that. It was an eye-popping day that threatens to become routine for the best running back in football, one where he made decisive cuts, bullied Packers defenders for extra yards, and seemed to know where lanes would be nanoseconds before they opened. He is a truly preposterous, special player.
- Michael Penix Jr. got off to a slow start—more on that in the ugly section, because it was ugly—and was 1/5 with an interception at one point. After that, he went 17/20 for 250ish yards and a touchdown, showcasing impressive accuracy and getting the ball out incredibly quickly. Penix looked comfortable once he settled in doing just about anything asked of him and took a couple of big hits—including a roughing the passer—along the way. Penix was a slow starter at times before the injury and is still warming up, so we should expect some rough stretches going forward, but for most of the night he looked like the passer the Falcons invested so much in back in 2024. I’m very happy for him and, obviously, for all of us.
- Brian Robinson Jr. has had to take over for a fan favorite in Tyler Allgeier, and to his credit he’s done extremely well. He looks decisive and rugged on returns after making a poor decision with the ball in Week 1 and has been an effective, physical runner who trusts his blocking. While Bijan obviously stole the headlines and absolutely dominated, Robinson 2 turned 10 carries into a tidy 50 yards and a touchdown. If he can keep rolling, this is the most dominant rushing attack in the NFL by a pretty wide margin.
- Drake London was just waiting for someone to be able to get him the ball. After showing his frustration on the sideline last week, London got Penix back and immediately exploded for nearly 200 yards through the air, including a 68 yard catch-and-run where he absolutely annihilated rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse. He had nine catches for 194 yards in total and the Packers looked absolutely helpless trying to get him in open space or just cover him, which is exactly what you want to see from London. He’s a passionate player who very badly wants to win, and this had to feel extremely sweet.
- Austin Hooper touchdown grabs? In 2026? I’ll take them. The Falcons have used Hooper more than I anticipated early, and Atlanta’s cast of playmakers take attention away from a player who is still a very capable receiver. With Kyle Pitts still not showing up in the box score—but throwing some nice blocks, we should note—Hooper has the opportunity to make his mark by being under the radar.
- The oft-maligned offensive line had some rough stretches early but then found its footing in a major way. The Falcons focused on getting the ball out quickly to mitigate some of their pass protection issues, but they largely kept Penix clean and bullied Green Bay’s defensive front on runs all night. It was great to see.
- Tommy Rees should get his flowers for working Penix into a rhythm and relentlessly attacking Green Bay’s weaknesses all night. We’ve complained long and bitterly in recent years about the way Dirk Koetter, Arthur Smith, and Zac Robinson, for all their individual strengths as play callers, seemed hellbent on doing things their way regardless of personnel and opponent; Rees took a quarterback returning from his third ACL injury and dialed up a plan that got the ball out, attacked the middle of the field in a way I don’t think Green Bay expected, and took advantage of his absurd arm talent. He’ll need to stack these games, obviously, but I do think poor Cooper Rush was just that limited.
- This team lost multiple defenders up front and they haven’t slowed down at all. Brandon Dorlus and Gervon Dexter had this overmatched Packers defensive line in hell, which in turn caused Jordan Love endless trouble. Dorlus just kept throwing Love badly off balance and Dexter was pushing Packers into Love’s lap, and while this whole rotation has fared well, these two guys have the potential to be one of the most imposing interior pass rush duos in the league. Dorlus is, for my money, already one of the most underrated defensive linemen going.
- Divine Deablo’s big hit on a scrambling Jordan Love for a loss was a thing of beauty. Pair that with some really nice work in coverage and you got a stew going, baby.
- Kendal Daniels was everywhere, showcasing the physicality and instincts that made me believe in him in the first place. I predicted that he’d start but thought there would be early hiccups to go with that; so far, I’ve seen almost nothing but good things.
- Cameron Thomas looks like one of the more impactful additions of the offseason already, with the team’s sole sack of the night despite all their pressure, and that’s the third straight week where he’s been a solid run defender while bringing the heat.
- Billy Bowman Jr.’s pass breakup was just stellar timing and awareness from a player who had been out a long time and could’ve been rusty, but was not.
- C.J. Henderson had a big job stepping in for A.J. Terrell, but he was up to the task. He had multiple nice plays and tight coverage throughout the first half, showcasing the talent that made him a first round pick in the first place before his career stagnated. In Atlanta, he’s taking to this defense extremely well and showing great instincts and the ability to impact plays, and I have a lot of confidence in his ability to hold up while Terrell is out.
- Zach Harrison was a surprise cut who then came back on the practice squad, and now is finally back on the Falcons roster where he belongs. He reminded us of that in the second quarter of this one, when he went way up to block Trey Smack’s field goal attempt that would’ve tied the game. It was great to see him making such a big play, and he was impactful on defense as well.
- Xavier Watts nearly picked off Jordan Love’s shot to the end zone late in the fourth quarter, and then turned around and did pick him off by jumping the route on Love’s final pass of the game. The bonafide playmaker has been good to start the 2026 season but hadn’t had any big plays yet, and hopefully this gets him going so he can pick off Tyler Shough, too.
- The defense really carried its weight in this one. Over and over again, they got timely pressure on Jordan Love to force a panicky throw, punished the Packers for daring to run behind their leaky line, and broke up deep passing attempts that would’ve gone for major gains. The run defense has been particularly impressive this year, defying our expectations, and absolutely smothered Green Bay all evening in that regard. Give these players a ton of credit, but also kudos to a coaching staff that has a ton of confidence and had a tremendous plan for this Green Bay offense.
- Nick Folk looked like he was back and settled in, hitting his two field goal tries with a minimum of fuss and no worrying leans to the left or right.
The Ugly
- We knew Michael Penix Jr. would be a little rusty, but he was more than a little rusty to start this one. His interception on the first drive was a can’t-throw-that shot over the middle right to the defender, and he repeatedly missed on Atlanta’s initial drives while looking panicky. The intentional grounding call nearly killed Atlanta’s first scoring drive before a fortunate roughing the passer revived it, and it looked like Penix was heading for a rough night. Happily, he was not.
- When the offense is cooking like this, it doesn’t matter that Kyle Pitts was lightly targeted again; I’m sure he’d tell you that himself. I do think there will be weeks in the near future when Bijan is slightly less productive and teams focus on taking London out of the game, and that’s when the Falcons will have to figure out how to get Pitts the ball so he can shine. We know the ability’s there, but I’m still waiting for the team to utilize an impactful playmaker more frequently, which is the smallest possible sour note in a game like this.
- Mike Hughes is still a willing tackler who has long stretches of competence in coverage, but he’s been losing too many battles in coverage thus far in 2026. I believe he was on the receiving end of both Packers touchdown passes and found himself out of position on both, though I’ll caution that’s just based off snap reactions to the broadcast. If he can’t rebound in the weeks ahead before A.J. Terrell returns, it’s very possible he’ll be out of a starting job with Billy Bowman Jr. back and Avieon Terrell coming on. He does have time to right the ship, however.
- We’ll have to see what’s going on with Jessie Bates, who was injured last night but did return. As Joe Patrick noted, Bates missed a lot of work this summer and has not looked like himself to start the year, with some coverage miscues and decisions that have left players like Hughes on an island unexpectedly. We’ll hope he’s fully healthy by the time Week 4 rolls around and can keep knocking rust off.
- It won’t be quite this fun every week. Bummer.
The Wrapup
Game MVP
Many worthy candidates in this one, but of course it’s Bijan Robinson after he scored two of Atlanta’s touchdowns, ripped off nearly 200 yards on the ground, and dominated and demoralized Green Bay. First of several this year, I’d wager.
One Takeaway
This may well be a high variance team that flips from thrilling to frustrating, but they are capable of putting together a performance like this. The fact that it happened as Penix returned to the field bodes well for them hitting that potential more often.
Next Week
The hated, smelly Saints in primetime. That should be a fun one.
Final Word
Greatgame.
