Atlanta was dealt a tough hand going against the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road with a limited Cooper Rush under center. They looked at their cards, arched an eyebrow, and proceeded to play that lousy hand…well, let’s say not as well as you’d like.
Rush was as abjectly bad, as you’d expect for a guy who has been a career backup who didn’t have a job until training camp and had extremely limited first team reps and reportedly dealt with back spasms on Saturday. The Falcons were unwilling to expose
Jack Strand to Week 1 game action as they look to develop him and ran one of the most conservative gameplans you’ll ever see for Rush, who had one sharp screen pass leading to a touchdown and a nice intermediate throw to Jahan Dotson sprinkled in between a lot of misses, near misses, and a hideous interception followed later by a pick six. I don’t think the team could have or would have asked for much more from Rush aside from a couple of decisions back, and the limits on the quarterback put limits on this offense that were very obviously difficult to overcome.
That wasn’t all, of course. The offense and defense were both undone by penalties, with two defensive pass interference calls on A.J. Terrell and five holding calls (three accepted) on Atlanta’s offensive linemen outside of Ryan Neuzil. Special teams were a mixed bag after a summer that looked encouraging, with Nick Folk missing a pair of kicks, Jake Bailey missing the landing zone on a kickoff, and another penalty hurting Atlanta. It was the kind of effort that earns you a loss against a misfit Steelers squad, and the fact that Pittsburgh could only muster a touchdown win over this version of the 2026 Falcons does not bode well for them. That was largely because the defense, a question mark again heading into this game, held Pittsburgh to 20 points and just 264 yards, with both of Pittsburgh’s touchdowns coming off Rush turnovers.
I’m upset primarily because this game was winnable in the right set of circumstances, but with a little distance from the effort I can only be so down about it. Rush starting was the kind of circumstance the Falcons exposed themselves two by having their top two quarterbacks being guys who have extensive injury histories, but needing him out there as the starter in Week 1 is absurd and unlikely enough as to simply be unlucky. It’s not hard to imagine more competent quarterback play making a huge difference, even if Chris Lindstrom needs to miss a little time with his concussion, and at least daydream of a decent season ahead. If they can get Michael Penix Jr. out there in Week 2, the passing game goes from an active liability to something approaching a danger.
For all that, the penalties, the uncertainty around quarterback, and this team’s clearly future-looking ethos combine to make you think 2026 may once again be a year where flashes of hope and spells of frustration mellow into mediocrity. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh after one week. Though the coaching staff and front office do not bear the sins of those that came before them, these are still the Atlanta Falcons, and the Atlanta Falcons have been struggling so mightily and for so long that it’s difficult not to assume the first sign of another tough year is the sign. This team still has the talent and ability to right the ship, but it goes without saying that they’ll need to do so quickly to earn the fanbase’s trust and stay competitive, even with the NFC South once again looking like a mud pit.
I hope we can look back at this as the day the Falcons fell prey to an inevitable tough road matchup with their third-string quarterback, rather than the start of something miserable and mediocre.
On to the full recap.
The Good
- Bijan Robinson is, of course, one of the very best players in football. He turned an errant Cooper Rush pass into seven yards early in this one, another errant Rush pass into a positive gain, and then a Rush screen and a couple of nice blocks by Charlie Woerner and Chris Blair into a touchdown just in the first quarter. He would finish with 21 carries for 83 yards and 8 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, accounting for about two-thirds of Atlanta’s yardage. The Falcons need to be less one-dimensional, but Bijan gives you a fighting chance every week even if he’s your only dimension.
- Brian Robinson Jr. also ran reasonably well and was effective as a kick returner, which was nice to see. He averaged 32 yards on kick returns and had a couple nice runs, though he average just 3.4 yards per carry, and looks like the complement the Falcons were hoping to get when they scooped him out of free agency. The mar on his day was hesitation on his initial kick return, but everybody gets a Week 1 freebie.
- Drake London didn’t get much work, but made the most of it, with a six yard gain on a jet sweep and two grabs for 29 yards. He will have better weeks when he gets more chances, but he looked like the same top-tier player he’s always been when we saw him.
- I thought Jahan Dotson made a great first impression, which might seem like an odd thing to say about a player with one catch for 19 yards. You have to remember that Rush overshot him badly on his first interception for what should’ve been a quality gain in traffic, and that Dotson was the heads-up player who recovered Bijan’s screen pass fumble. I thought he showed the kind of awareness and ability to get open that should make him a legitimate factor with more competent quarterback play.
- The blocks from Chris Blair and Charlie Woerner on Bijan’s touchdown catch were fantastic. It beggars belief that Blair couldn’t get on the field for last year’s decimated offense when he’s a sure-handed target who can do that.
- Aside from one missed interception that went just beyond his hands, Divine Deablo looked really good in this one with a credited forced fumble and seven tackles. The fact that rookie linebackers Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. also showed up and delivered some big plays gives you real hope for this inside linebacker group as they try to navigate life post-Kaden Elliss.
- Atlanta put a lot of effort into stacking up their defensive interior, and I will say it looked like it paid off. Brandon Dorlus was really good in this one, and if he missed a sack, he still came up with multiple big stops and was aggressive and effective rushing from the interior.
- Maason Smith’s leaping effort on the second Steelers drive ensured they had to settle for three points, and it was both an impressive display of athleticism and extremely well-timed tip. He also had a coverage sack on Aaron Rodgers in the first quarter that was erased by an A.J. Terrell holding call.
- I thought LaCale London looked really good in this one, with a couple of big run stops and a non-stop motor that allowed him to keep impacting the game throughout. He’s slowly climbed the ladder with the Falcons and is now one of their essential interior defenders.
- Za’Darius Smith rocks. After retiring and un-retiring, dealing with awful loss, and working himself back into game shape, Smith came up with two sacks in this one to key a Falcons pass rush that was inconsistent but got home just enough to impact this game. What an effort from a player the Falcons are going to have to count on.
- The NFC South went winless in Week 1, so the damage here was not as bad as it could’ve been. The Panthers putting up 30-plus points, the Saints almost beating the Lions, and the Buccaneers hanging in against the Bengals may impact how good this one feels to you, though.
The Ugly
- Cooper Rush looked like a third-string quarterback who hadn’t had enough time with this team, this offense, and also just was having back spasms a day ago. His touchdown pass to Bijan Robinson was a perfectly crisp screen pass, but around that he missed deep shots, threw wide on short passes to Bijan, and two ugly interceptions alongside four tipped and batted passes. The miss to Dotson was horrendous and the pick-six to Watt was just about repetition and predictability because Rush was so one-dimensional. The Falcons didn’t have a lot of great options after Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa were both declared out, given that Jack Strand has essentially not worked with the first time since the early spring and is a player the Falcons are clearly hoping to develop rather than start in 2026, but a limited Rush hurt this offense badly all day. If the Falcons have to go back to him in Week 2, he’ll have to be light years better to give this team a fighting chance, and while I feel badly for him that he was thrust into action like this in a difficult situation, I know he’d tell you he’s not happy with how this one went.
- Bijan fumbling multiple times is uncharacteristic, but he did so four times last year and twice in the final five weeks, meaning over his last six games he’s put the ball on the ground four times. You live with that up to a point when Bijan is your entire offense, of course, but it’s one thing I hope will vanish as the season rolls on.
- Kyle Pitts getting totally shut out was malpractice. Aside from a missed block early in this one, he just wasn’t given a shot to be a factor, which is less on him than it is the coaching staff and Rush for not being able to get a legitimate playmaker the ball. That’s going to have to chance in Week 2 and beyond, as well.
- The offensive line blocked well for Bijan but did not have the best day overall, with the multiple holding calls and some ugly pass protection reps hurting the effort. I fully recognize that Rush can’t escape pressure and this line had their work cut out for them in a tough matchup, but it’s hard to praise them when Rush had multiple snaps where he stood no chance pretty much immediately.
- The pass rush delivered plenty of pressure, but there’s still a need for greater consistency because the handful of times they allowed Rodgers a small eternity in the pocket predictably led to terrible outcomes for the Falcons. Delivering at a high level will be an absolute must against Bryce Young, who has been on a tear against this Falcons defense in his short career and just aired it out against a weak Bears defense.
- A.J. Terrell had a heroic but early dive that could have been penalized on DK Metcalf to prevent a third quarter deep shot, but hurt himself on the play. The effort was much appreciated and Terrell appears to be okay, which is a major relief. Before that, however, he was called for defensive pass interference twice, and the tendency he has to stack penalties in his worst efforts reared its ugly head in Week 1. We know how good he is and can be, but this was not his strongest effort.
- I know Acrisure is not an easy environment to kick in, but Nick Folk missed on field goal tries just three times a year ago for the season. He missed on his first two tries in this one, one from 54 yards (difficult) and one from 45 yards (not so difficult). Perhaps he settles in nicely from here, but the Falcons did not want to be considering a kicker problem this early in the season, which is part of the reason they went with someone who had a stellar track record and a strong 2025. If Folk can’t get on track in Week 2 against the Panthers, he might not be long for this roster.
- Jake Bailey did well punting on balance, but somehow had a kickoff come up short of the landing zone, which gave Pittsburgh the ball at the 40 up seven in the fourth quarter. A couple of unfortunate bounces also led to touchbacks, though that’s more the vagaries of an oblong ball than anything Bailey did.
- What bothered me most was how familiar this all looked. Rush on the road against the Steelers was clearly a major factor here—the team could look completely different at home with a different quarterback—but the penalties, the special teams miscues, and the one-dimensional offensive gameplan all have lost the Falcons multiple games in recent seasons. This is a new regime and they need to be given some time to show what they’re made of, but the Falcons are also the Falcons and have been this kind of distinctly shaky team for a long time now. They have to show more life offensively and cut down on the mistakes in Week 2.
The Wrapup
Game MVP
It’s obviously Bijan Robinson, who accounted for most of Atlanta’s offense and their one touchdown on the day. He’ll have even better efforts in wins, we hope.
One Takeaway
This is a work in progress team under a new staff that desperately needs more talent and upside at quarterback to take another step. How quickly they can progress and how quickly they get better QB play will likely determine the fate of their season.
Next Week
Homeward bound to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face off against the division rival Carolina Panthers, the last 1 p.m. Sunday kickoff before three straight primetime games. The Panthers put together a horrendous defensive performance but looked good offensively against the Bears to open the season.
Final Word
Disappointingbutnotsurprising.
