Billy Bowman Jr. stepped back into the Falcons’ lineup at exactly the right moment, and Atlanta needed every bit of it.
With A.J. Terrell now on injured reserve because of a groin injury, the cornerback room has been stretched thin.
That made Bowman’s season debut on Thursday night against the Packers feel even bigger. The Falcons beat Green Bay 34-15 on primetime, and Bowman’s first game action in 10 months gave the secondary a lift it badly needed.
Bowman tore his Achilles in November and sat out all of training camp and the preseason while recovering. He had practiced in full before the first two games, but he still wasn’t quite ready to go. Against the Packers, though, he was back on the field just like Michael Penix Jr.
The second-year corner played 43 snaps in his return, while Avieon Terrell’s workload dipped to just 13 snaps. Atlanta had been looking at a rough setup without Terrell, with Mike Hughes and C.J. Henderson starting on the outside, but Bowman’s return changed the feel of that group right away.
He didn’t just survive the night - he made plays. According to PFF, Bowman was targeted eight times and gave up four catches for 73 yards.
Most of that damage came on a 34-yard gain to Christian Watson. He was also less of a coverage liability than Hughes, even if Henderson was the standout in the win.
Bowman finished with two pass breakups in his first game back, including one where he recovered after getting beaten and still got his hand up to deny Matthew Golden a chunk play. It was the kind of sequence that showed both the rust and the instincts, and the instincts won out.
For a player working back from one of football’s toughest injuries, it was a strong return. The 2025 fourth-round pick from Oklahoma is now locked in as Atlanta’s starting slot corner, and that gives the Falcons some needed flexibility while Terrell is sidelined. It also opens the door for Avieon Terrell to spend more time on the outside as the Falcons try to piece together the boundary opposite Henderson.
However they sort out the rest of the secondary, Bowman’s presence matters. After the way he looked in his first game of 2026, Atlanta got its young corner back at the right time.
In Other News...
Falcons Fans Already Have A Coaching Debate They Didnt Expect
The first month of the season has already given Falcons fans something to chew on beyond the usual quarterback chatter: a coaching comparison they probably did not expect this soon. Atlanta brought in Kevin Stefanski to lead the way, and while the Falcons are 1-2, they did at least give themselves a timely lift with a primetime win over the Green Bay Packers. It is early, but the results are already inviting a conversation about how the new era in Atlanta is taking shape.
Elsewhere, Klint Kubiak has his new team rolling in Las Vegas, where the Raiders are 3-0 after a recent win over the New Orleans Saints. The parallel is hard for Atlanta fans to miss, since both hires were meant to steer their franchises in a new direction, and one of those directions is off to a much hotter start. For now, the Falcons can lean on the fact that Stefanski has already delivered a big-stage win, but the broader debate around the two coaching moves is only getting started. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Added To A Quarterback Debate Fans Will Enjoy
Around the league, Week 3 only sharpened the quarterback conversations that have already started to spill into the rest of the season, and the Falcons have to be paying close attention. Drake Mayes turnover issues have dragged the Patriots into frustration, while Deshaun Watson has looked much steadier as the Browns have picked up wins behind him. Jordan Loves early struggles have come with the usual mix of protection problems and accuracy concerns in Green Bay, leaving his outlook unsettled as the season settles in.
Kirk Cousins has been the steadier name in the group, guiding the Raiders offense with the kind of efficient play that keeps a team on schedule and a front office comfortable. For Atlanta, that kind of quarterback debate matters because it adds another layer to the league-wide picture of how quickly things can change at the position, and why every strong or shaky stretch gets noticed. The Falcons are still watching the broader discussion take shape, and the next few weeks should help clarify which of these passers is actually trending in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Enter Saints Showdown With Something They Have Been Missing
The Falcons head into Monday night with a little momentum and a much-needed sense of life after their 35-14 road win over the Green Bay Packers. Michael Penix Jr. was back at quarterback, and Atlanta got strong outings from Bijan Robinson and Drake London, a combination that gave the offense a cleaner, more balanced look than it had shown earlier in the season.
Now comes a division matchup with New Orleans, and both teams arrive at 1-2 needing a reset more than a spotlight. The Saints are coming off a 35-27 loss to the Raiders, even with Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson and Tyler Shough providing some offense, so this one feels like an early chance for Atlanta to build on its best performance and see whether the pieces that clicked last week can hold up in a bigger spot. [Read more 🡒]