After two weeks, the Falcons looked buried. Two rough Cooper Rush starts had plenty of people ready to write off Atlanta’s NFC South chances before September was even over. Then Thursday night happened, Michael Penix Jr. was back in the starting lineup, and the offense suddenly had life again in a blowout win over the Packers.
That was enough to put Atlanta back in the conversation. What followed on Sunday made the path look even clearer.
Every other NFC South team that played took a loss, tightening a division that already looked wide open. The Saints fell to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Panthers were upset by the Browns, and the Buccaneers dropped to 0-3 after losing to the Vikings. As things stand, the Falcons are tied with the Panthers and Saints atop the NFC South at 1-2.
That sets up next Monday night in New Orleans as a game with real weight for Atlanta. With momentum coming off a commanding win at Lambeau Field, the Falcons have a chance to keep building when they face Tyler Shough and the Saints at the Superdome.
The Panthers were the latest NFC South team to get caught by Cleveland. Deshaun Watson and the Browns pulled off their second straight upset of a division opponent, and Carolina spent much of the afternoon chasing the game on the road. The Panthers had to settle for field goals while Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. put together a 2-TD game.
Bryce Young, after carving up Atlanta’s secondary last week, came back to earth. He finished with 291 passing yards, but it took 48 attempts to get there, and he also threw the game-losing interception. Carolina’s defense didn’t have the same answer for Watson that it had for Cooper Rush and Jack Strand.
New Orleans came into Sunday with some buzz after its shocking upset of the Ravens, but the Saints couldn’t back it up against the Raiders. They hosted Las Vegas and lost because they kept getting in their own way.
Tyler Shough threw four touchdown passes, but the Aints turned the ball over on every possession of the fourth quarter. Those late mistakes flipped a game they probably should’ve won.
Tampa Bay’s slide was the ugliest of the bunch. The Buccaneers hosted the Vikings and ran into a nightmare matchup for a Todd Bowles and Zac Robinson offense against Brian Flores’ defense. In the 20-16 loss, the Bucs went three-and-out six times, scored only one touchdown, and lost Baker Mayfield to a hand injury late in the game.
Atlanta ended up as the only NFC South team to win this week, and that matters. The Falcons’ division hopes suddenly look a lot more real, but only if the Michael Penix Jr. version that showed up Thursday keeps showing up.
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 🡒]