The Pittsburgh Steelers are the healthiest they've been in months, but the same can't be said for the Atlanta Falcons, who just saw their Plan C at quarterback suffer an injury of his own.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Falcons revealed that Cooper Rush, the team's QB3 who was set to start in Week 1, suffered back spasms on Saturday. Atlanta claimed that Rush would still start against the Steelers in Week 1.
Falcons starting QB Cooper Rush, who was replacing the injured QB Tua Tagovailoa, experienced back spasms Saturday but the team said he still will start Sunday at Pittsburgh.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2026
The Falcons quarterback room has been devastated by injuries, as Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) have both been ruled out for Sunday's game,
leaving Rush to get the starting nod. Behind Rush, the Falcons are down to only rookie Jack Strand. Atlanta's head coach Kevin Stefanski claimed the team would have an emergency third quarterback, with some speculating it could be wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus.
Pittsburgh was dealing with some injuries at important positions of its own over the past month, including wide receivers DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. But the team only listed Joey Porter Jr. (back) on the Week 1 injury report, which means the majority of its previously injured players are good to go this Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Falcons QB injury nightmare somehow gets worse before Week 1 vs. Steelers
