It didn’t take long for the NFC quarterback picture to start shifting. With September winding down and Week 3 underway, injuries and uneven play are already pushing some names up and others way down. Thursday night gave the whole thing a jolt: Michael Penix Jr. made his 2026 debut for Atlanta, while Jordan Love turned in one of the roughest outings he’s had in years against the Falcons.
At the bottom of this week’s NFC quarterback rankings sits Jameis Winston of the Giants. New York is in rough shape after Jaxson Dart went down for the season with a knee injury.
Dart had given the team real hope after that Week 1 showing against Dallas, and the buzz only grew before his night against the Rams ended on the first drive. Now Winston takes over for the rest of the year after signing a 2-year deal worth $13 million before the season.
Just above him is Kyler Murray, who is set to return to the Vikings’ lineup after Carson Wentz steadied the offense through the first two weeks. Murray’s season started with a concussion, and at the time he had 18 yards and an interception.
Wentz then guided Minnesota to an impressive comeback win over Green Bay and followed that with a defensive battle against Chicago in the rain. Murray’s next job is clear: keep leaning on that defense while he works to build chemistry with Justin Jefferson and the rest of the offense.
Jacoby Brissett lands at No. 14 after a strong opening week gave way to a much rougher Week 2 against Seattle. The Seahawks’ defense under Mike Macdonald proved to be a tough assignment, and Brissett is headed into another difficult test with a road game against the 49ers in Week 3.
What the last year has shown is that he’s a high-end backup and low-end QB1, the kind of quarterback who fits best as a placeholder. The bigger question is whether the Cardinals will eventually reach a point where they turn to Carson Beck.
Penix comes in at No. 13 after providing Atlanta with a much-needed lift on Thursday night. The Falcons have been near the bottom of the league in these rankings across the board so far this season, but Penix’s road performance against Green Bay stood out because it brought a level of competence the offense had been missing.
He wasn’t out there lighting up the stat sheet, but with Bijan Robinson in the backfield, simply having a capable quarterback at the controls can change the feel of the whole unit. Cooper Rush and Jack Strand, by contrast, did not get that job done.
In Other News...
Al Michaels Turned A Falcons Broadcast Into A Michael Penix Joke
Al Michaels had a brief but noticeable slip during Thursday nights Falcons-Packer matchup, and it landed in a place Atlanta fans know well: around Michael Penix Jr.s college path. While talking about the quarterback on the broadcast, Michaels mistakenly said Penix spent two years at Oregon after starting at Indiana, before quickly correcting himself and noting that Penix actually played at Washington instead.
The correction mattered because Washington is a rival of Oregon, and the mix-up did not go unnoticed. Fans immediately lit into the error on social media, turning a simple broadcast miss into another talking point around Penix, who has already been under a brighter spotlight as Atlantas quarterback situation continues to draw scrutiny. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Fans Will Love How Stefanski Closed Out Green Bay
Kevin Stefanskis late decision against Green Bay fit the kind of aggressive edge Falcons fans have been waiting to see. With Atlanta sitting on a comfortable lead, he opted to go for two instead of settling for the extra point, pushing the margin to 21 and making the math even tougher on the Packers in the final stretch.
It was a fitting cap to a strong all-around afternoon for Atlanta, with Bijan Robinson powering the ground game for 194 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Penix Jr. adding 256 passing yards and a score. The choice also showed clear awareness of what Jordan Love could still theoretically do, but it left Green Bay needing a very specific sequence it could no longer realistically put together. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Penix Jr. Already Put Falcons Fans On Edge In Debut
Michael Penix Jr. stepped into the Falcons starting quarterback job in their 2026 season debut on Thursday night against the Packers, and the opening minutes gave Atlanta fans plenty to feel all at once. Penix was intercepted on the first drive, but the Falcons settled in quickly enough to answer Green Bays early touchdown pass from Jordan Love, with Bijan Robinson sparking the offense on a 55-yard run and later finding the end zone on the ground.
Atlantas response turned the mood in the building fast, especially once Penix connected with Austin Hooper for a touchdown pass and the Falcons pushed out to a 17-7 lead late in the second quarter. For a quarterback making his first start, the early turnover was the kind of jolt that can linger, but the way the Falcons steadied themselves around him suggested this debut was going to be watched closely all night. [Read more 🡒]