Thursday night’s Falcons-Packers matchup has all the ingredients for a grind-it-out game, and the biggest names on the field may end up fighting the weather more than each other.
Atlanta comes in with a messy quarterback picture behind it. The Falcons opened the season leaning on Cooper Rush and Jack Strand, while Bijan Robinson has been the lone steady force, leading the team in both rushing and receiving. Now Michael Penix Jr. is set to make his return Thursday after being cleared following last November’s ACL tear, even though the original plan was for Tua Tagovailoa to compete with him for the starting job.
Green Bay hasn’t exactly cruised into Week 3 either. The Packers’ defense has held up, but the offense has lagged behind, and the ground game has been a real problem with Josh Jacob placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List before the season began. That’s the backdrop for a game that could be ugly early and tight all the way through.
Bijan Robinson is the centerpiece of Atlanta’s attack, but this is a bad setup for him. He has seen Green Bay once before, during his 2023 rookie year, when he piled up 19 carries for 124 yards and added four catches for 48 yards.
This time, the prediction is a much quieter night. Green Bay is eighth in rushing yards allowed, and if Penix looks rusty, Atlanta could end up leaning on Robinson into a loaded front.
Prediction: The Packers’ defense stops Bijan Robinson in his tracks. He finishes the night with 16 carries, 40 yards, and 2 receptions for 14 yards.
The other side of the ball doesn’t project much better. Green Bay enters the matchup last in third-down conversion percentage through two weeks, and Atlanta’s defense has been giving opposing offenses little room to breathe on money downs. Without a reliable run game to lean on, the Packers are expected to keep running into the same wall.
Prediction: Green Bay struggles to convert third down situations. Their third-down conversion percentage ducks below the current 19.1% following Thursday night’s game.
The first half could be a long stretch of empty possessions. Both offenses have had trouble finding points early, and this one is forecast to follow the familiar Thursday night pattern of too much punting and not enough fireworks. Big plays from Bijan Robinson and Christian Watson are expected to wait until later.
Prediction: Both offenses will struggle during the first half and will head into halftime with the score 0-0.
If the game does open up at all, it may come in the third quarter with field goals from Atlanta’s Nick Folk and Green Bay’s Trey Smack. Even then, the night still sounds like a defensive tug-of-war. The Packers are projected to punt for the 15th time in three games, then pin Atlanta deep with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter.
That’s when the Falcons are expected to finally land the decisive blow. Atlanta would drive the field, Penix would hit Kyle Pitts Sr. for a touchdown after busted coverage in the Green Bay secondary, and then Jordan Love would cough it up on the final Packers possession. Atlanta would recover the fumble and escape with a 10-3 win.
Prediction: Thursday night’s game has little offense, and blown coverage by the Packers’ secondary leads to the game-winning touchdown by the Falcons.
In Other News...
A.J. Terrell Injury Triggered A Falcons Move With Unexpected Fallout
A.J. Terrells groin injury forced the Falcons to make a quick roster adjustment, and the ripple effect reached well beyond Atlanta. With Terrell moved to injured reserve, the Falcons added cornerback Robert Longerbeam from the Eagles practice squad, a straightforward solution for a team trying to keep the secondary stocked while one of its top defenders recovers.
Kenny Moore II ended up being the unexpected beneficiary on the other side of the transaction, landing with Philadelphia on a one-year practice squad deal after Longerbeams departure opened a spot. For Atlanta, the move is about surviving the short term without Terrell, but it also shows how one injury can set off a chain of personnel decisions that affects more than one team and may still shape the Eagles cornerback depth from here. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Road Trip Took An Unusual Turn After Lambeau Game
The Falcons trip to Lambeau Field ended up carrying a strange off-field wrinkle after Green Bays Week 3 win, when Ronika Stone said her camera and a luxury handbag went missing following the game. Stone, the wife of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, said the items had been left in a clear bag that was later found by security, but the two valuables were gone.
Stone has since asked the public to keep an eye out for her Sony camera and said she is hoping the belongings make their way back to her. It is the kind of postgame story nobody in Atlanta expected to follow a road trip, but it has quickly become one more odd note from a weekend that already ended with the Falcons leaving Wisconsin without a win. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Fans Should Start Watching This QB Search Now
The Falcons have already spent plenty of time chasing a long-term answer at quarterback, and the next wave of possibilities is starting to take shape on the college schedule. The 2027 NFL Draft class is being discussed as a deep one at the position, which means Atlanta fans have reason to keep an eye on more than just the usual Sunday headlines. This is the kind of evaluation season where future franchise decisions begin in September, not in April.
Arch Mannings Texas-Tennessee matchup is one of the first stops, while Dante Moore against Jayden Maiava in Oregon-USC gives scouts another chance to compare top arms in a high-profile setting. Trinidad Chambliss and Ole Miss facing Florida adds another name to the mix, and for a team still hunting for stability under center, these games matter because they help shape how the quarterback board looks long before the draft board is final. [Read more 🡒]