The Falcons were looking for a reset Saturday, and they got one in a big way. Atlanta rolled past Indianapolis 34-6 after a rough preseason opener, bringing a sharper edge and more physical play after a week of joint practices in Indianapolis.
With roster decisions looming and several battles still unsettled, the game also doubled as one last big audition for players trying to stick. Some helped themselves. Others left the door open.
Nathan Goodson was one of the clear winners. The running back popped a 49-yard touchdown and once again flashed the kind of burst Atlanta has seen from him all through training camp.
That matters even more now that Trey Sermon is on injured reserve, because the running back picture behind Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. is suddenly more crowded. Goodson has kept showing he can create explosive plays, and Saturday was another reminder that he belongs in the conversation for that next spot.
The biggest momentum shift may have come from the quarterback room, where undrafted rookie D.J. Strand kept making things interesting.
He completed 12 of 17 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown, added a 16-yard rushing score and hit a 36-yard completion downfield. Cooper Rush came into camp with the experience edge, but Strand keeps answering with poise and playmaking.
With one preseason game left, he has turned the QB3 race into a real decision.
Jalon Daniels also continued to build his case. The rookie linebacker has been active throughout camp and the joint practices, and Saturday gave him another chance to show that his preseason production carries over when the lights come on. Atlanta has been sorting through linebacker options while dealing with injuries in the group, and Daniels keeps giving the staff reasons to think about getting him on the field sooner rather than later.
On the other side of the ledger, Arnold Ojulari needed a louder day and didn’t quite get one. That doesn’t mean he was bad, but in a room that has lost Jalon Walker for the season with a torn ACL and will be without James Pearce Jr. for eight games because of suspension, “solid” may not be enough.
Ojulari was expected to help fill that void, yet he didn’t consistently separate himself from the pack. That leaves more opening for Keshawn Banks, Cameron Sample, Bralen Trice and others, especially now that Atlanta has added veteran Za'Darius Smith.
The quarterback picture is still unsettled, even though Tua Tagovailoa did not play Saturday. He struggled in the preseason opener and had an uneven first joint practice against Indianapolis before improving in the second.
Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. has been cleared to return to 11 on 11 work, which only adds more fuel to the QB1 discussion. Tagovailoa has the edge right now because he’s healthy and available, but if Penix comes back and performs, Atlanta could be looking at a much bigger call than it seemed a short time ago.
There was also a subtle message in how the Falcons used linebacker Chris Harris. He wasn’t out there because he did something wrong, but because the competition around him is tightening.
Harris entered in the second quarter, which stood out because he has been working with the starting defense and is projected as one of Atlanta’s starting linebackers. If his spot were locked in, the Falcons probably wouldn’t have needed extra preseason evaluation time.
Instead, they gave it to him, and that says plenty about how open the linebacker race has become.
Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. are part of that push, and Harris now has to keep proving he belongs at the top of the group.
Atlanta has one preseason game left before the roster math gets real. The matchup with Miami will give the staff one more chance to sort through the final calls.
Saturday helped Goodson, Strand and Daniels. Ojulari and the edge group still have work to do.
And the quarterback room could get even more complicated if Penix returns and keeps pushing, while Strand keeps forcing the issue for QB3.
At this point in the preseason, every snap still counts.
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 Backups Just Changed The Feel Of Several Roster Battles
The Falcons left Indianapolis with a preseason win and, just as important, a deeper look at the players trying to pry open roster spots. After a week of joint practices, Atlantas backups carried plenty of the load in a 34-6 victory over the Colts, with Tyler Goodson bursting for a 49-yard rushing touchdown and both Cooper Rush and Jack Strand directing scoring drives. For a roster in the middle of sorting out its depth, that kind of showing can matter as much as the final score.
Atlantas defense helped keep the night firmly in the Falcons control, holding Indianapolis under 200 yards and out of the end zone. Those kinds of performances tend to sharpen competition on the fringes of the roster, especially when reserves make the case that they can handle more than just late-game snaps. The broader picture now is less about the preseason result itself and more about which of these performances will carry real weight when the team has to make its cuts. [Read more 🡒]