The Atlanta Falcons opened the season with yet another Week 1 loss. This time, it was a 20-13 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Falcons' last opening day victory came against the Carolina Panthers in 2023, which remains their only Week 1 win since the team's 2016 Super Bowl appearance
While the Falcons had their chances on Sunday, the offense continued to be plagued by poor quarterback play. We saw a lot of the same problems that Atlanta dealt with last season, but it's tough to expect much from any team starting its third-string quarterback.
Here are your studs and duds from the Falcons' loss to the Steelers in NFL Week 1.
Stud - RB Bijan Robinson
If I'm Bijan Robinson, I would be considering my options after this season. Obviously, he just signed an extension,
and as a player, you want to be featured a lot on offense. However, he’s being featured a bit too much and the team needs to manage his workload as the season progresses. He had a couple fumbles, both of which were recovered by Atlanta, but without him, the game wouldn't have even been close. Robinson had 173 all-purpose yards.
Dud - K Nick Folk
The Falcons could have signed Zane Gonzalez for cheaper than what they gave veteran Nick Folk, but it was hard to argue after how well Folk played last season. A starting kicker should not miss two kicks in a game, especially with Cooper Rush out there at quarterback. It’s as simple as that. In a game that was always within a possession of Atlanta, those six points changed the outcome in favor of Pittsburgh.
Stud - DE Za'Darius Smith
Smith ended the afternoon with two sacks on Steelers Aaron Rodgers. With James Pearce Jr sitting out the first half of the season, and Jalon Walker out for the year, someone will need to step up. Smith came out of retirement to join Atlanta, and he's off to a really nice start. Hopefully this trend continues for the veteran edge rusher. Smith's track record suggests it will.
Dud - QB Cooper Rush
Cooper Rush is not a quarterback that should be starting. Neither is Jack Strand, but we may see Strand in a week after today. After ,multiple passes of Rush were swatted away at the line of scrimmage, T.J. Watt eventually caught an interception at the line of scrimmage to pull away for good from the Falcons. The offense was poor all day and Cooper Rush was the crux of the issue. Slightly better quarterback play could have likely gotten Atlanta a victory.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Studs and Duds from the Falcons' Week 1 loss to the Steelers
