After a rough preseason opener, the Falcons looked like a different team on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Atlanta rolled past the Colts 34-6, and the win came with a much cleaner edge than the 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos last weekend. The defense controlled the game, the offense piled up more than 450 total yards, and the Colts were held to under 200 yards while failing to reach the end zone in front of their home crowd.
The biggest difference was execution. A week ago, Atlanta was sloppy, called for nine penalties, turned it over twice, and never found much rhythm.
This time, the offense put together four touchdowns and more than doubled its yards per play from last week. The Falcons also converted half of their third downs, and the whole operation looked far more organized from start to finish.
Whether it was the run game or the passing game, the Colts never really had an answer for what Tommy Rees was calling. On the other side, Jeff Ulbrich’s defense kept Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson in check all afternoon.
Tyler Goodson kept building his case in the RB3 battle, and he did it with a splash play. The 25-year-old finished with six carries for 59 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 49-yard scoring run. He also added a 37-yard kick return, and the blocking in front of him opened plenty of room.
At quarterback, Cooper Rush answered a rough outing with a much steadier performance. After throwing two interceptions, including a pick-six, against Denver, he opened this game by leading three scoring drives on the Falcons’ first four possessions, finishing with 10 completions on 11 attempts for 86 yards. That’s a 90.9% completion rate after he had finished below 40% a week earlier.
Still, Rush didn’t separate himself in the QB3 competition, because Jack Strand kept making plays too. The undrafted rookie worked a little more than a half and immediately got Atlanta moving, completing his first four passes on the opening drive and later leading another touchdown march before halftime. He ended up 12-of-17 for 217 yards with his first career passing touchdown and also ran for another score.
Cash Jones was another young player who took advantage of the moment. He scored on Strand’s first NFL touchdown pass, turning a flat route into a 13-yard touchdown, and finished with a team-high-tying four catches for 62 yards.
He also ran seven times for 41 yards, and his two catches over 20 yards on Atlanta’s final drive helped pad a strong day. Vinny Anthony II also tied him with four receptions.
There was movement on the defensive depth chart, too. Christian Harris was on the field, but not in the way that would suggest he’s secure.
He didn’t start, with JD Bertrand and Kendal Daniels getting the nod, and he didn’t see his first snaps until late in the second quarter. Josh Woods and Harold Perkins Jr. also got on the field before him.
The Falcons’ energy showed up everywhere, right down to the sideline. When Goodson broke loose for his long touchdown, the bench erupted so loudly that Atlanta drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was the kind of sideline reaction that matched the tone of the game: the Falcons played with force, and they played like a team that had plenty left to prove.
In Other News...
Simone Biles Turned Falcons-Colts Into A Sideline Talking Point
Simone Biles appearance at the Colts preseason game against the Falcons added a little extra star power to an otherwise routine August matchup. She was there to support her husband, safety Jonathan Owens, who signed a one-year deal with Indianapolis in March and handled the kind of quiet opening-night workload that usually gets lost in the shuffle of preseason football.
For Atlanta, the sightline mattered as much as the snap counts. Biles has been back in the public eye after recovering from a serious health emergency that required hospitalization, and her presence on the sideline turned a standard exhibition game into a talking point well beyond the box score. Owens finished with one tackle, but the bigger moment may have been the attention his wife brought to a game the Falcons otherwise would have moved past quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Trade Is Creating A Defensive Ripple Few Fans Saw Coming
Sydney Brown has already turned into one of the more intriguing additions in Falcons camp after Atlanta brought him over from Philadelphia in a trade that also sent multiple draft picks back the other way. The safety has flashed at both safety and nickel cornerback, giving the coaching staff a versatile piece to sort through as the team continues sorting out its defensive back end.
Ian Cunninghams deal may be producing even more value than Atlanta first expected, thanks to the draft capital that came back in the package. Those picks became Harold Perkins Jr. and Kendal Daniels, and both have made early impressions during training camp and preseason work, creating a ripple effect that has quietly added competition and depth across the defense. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons QB Battle Just Created A Roster Problem They Didn't Need
The Falcons quarterback competition took another turn in their second preseason game, and it did more than sort out who looked sharpest on the field. Cooper Rush got the start and kept Atlanta moving with three scoring drives before giving way to rookie Jack Strand, whose night was even louder thanks to a productive passing performance and some damage on the ground. For a team trying to settle the depth chart behind its top passers, both quarterbacks made a convincing case to stay in the conversation.
What makes the situation tricky is the ripple effect beyond the competition itself. Atlanta now has a real decision to make at the third-string spot, and the way Rush and Strand played has at least opened the door to a roster construction question the Falcons probably wanted to avoid. Carrying four quarterbacks is not the kind of move teams make lightly, but the preseason has already made this one feel like a possibility worth considering. [Read more 🡒]