5 immediate takeaways after Falcons' disastrous preseason opener vs. Broncos

The first game of the Atlanta Falcons' preseason is in the books, and it was an ugly one. Game 1 of the Kevin Stefanski era could not have gone worse, as the Falcons took a 24-0 deficit into halftime which saw Broncos coach Sean Payton pour onto the disaster with some pointed on-air comments.

The Falcons ended up falling to the Broncos 27-7 in a game where it felt like they never truly had any momentum in front of their home crowd. From the first drive they looked in over their heads and this one felt lopsided all evening long. Hopefully this isn't a sign of what's to come for this team all year.

Between two series with the starters and a whole lot of studs (and duds), a lot happened in this matchup, so let's dive into the major immediate takeaways.

What were the biggest storylines from the Atlanta Falcons' preseason opener?

An uneventful debut for Tua Tagovailoa

Tua Tagovailoa's debut with the Atlanta Falcons hardly went according to plan. He suited up for two series and both of them ended in punts, including a three-and-out on their opening possession. Additionally, he aborted a snap on said opening possession that helped result in the stalled drive, but he was able to recover.

It's not like the defense did them any favors, but 3-for-5 for 22 yards (with all three completions going to the same pass-catcher) is not going to cut it. Tagovailoa is supposed to be the clear favorite in this quarterback battle, but didn't show enough in limited action to put this matter to bed for good.

The pass-rush struggled to generate pressure

I guess there will be no encore after setting the franchise sack record last season. The Dirty Birds will be without Jalon Walker for all of 2026 and James Pearce Jr. for the first eight games (although he played tonight). And a pass-rush without a direction is precisely what we saw on Friday night.

For one, Jeff Ulbrich wasn't blitzing as frequently as he did last season with considerably worse personnel, which must be due to a lack of faith. Not only were they unable to generate any pressure on Jarrett Stidham, it made the secondary's job tougher and they got picked apart all night long.

Stidham picked the Falcons apart in the first half. He completed nine of 15 pass attempts for 131 passing yards, and he and Courtland Sutton connected three times for 60 yards on Denver's opening drive alone. The defensive line had so much time in the pocket he could've had a picnic back there.

Tua Tagovailoa's favorite target was crystal clear

Kevin Stefanski's offense loves tight ends, and signing Tua Tagovailoa only confirmed that the best was yet to come for Kyle Pitts. Of the three passes Tua completed, all of them went to the newly-extended tight end--which makes for a pretty solid connection considering it was in limited action.

This means the 25-year-old accrued an 80% target share with Tagovailoa under center. They only played two drives together, and while it did come without Bijan Robinson and Drake London, it goes to show you that his rapport with Tua is growing and he'll be a key piece of the offense in 2026.

Chris Blair's dominant summer continued

Veteran receiver Chris Blair has been one of the standouts of the summer for the Falcons in training camp, and the preseason told the same story. He caught just two passes, but his 37 receiving yards marked a team-high. While that may feel low, the Falcons QBs failed to surpass 150 passing yards.

Blair's best play of the night saw him climb the ladder between two defenders for a 22-yard gain from Cooper Rush shortly before halftime. The Falcons' WR battle is still ongoing, and it continues to seem like he's starting to pull away in his quest for a roster spot.

The QB3 battle became much, much clearer

Cooper Rush and Jack Strand have been vying to be the Falcons' QB3 since training camp started, but the pendulum has swung in several different directions. First it was the undrafted rookie pulling away, but it was Rush who took more second-team reps in camp and played first on Friday night.

However, Rush was flat-out abysmal. He completed just seven of 19 pass attempts and threw two interceptions, including a 97-yard pick-six that halted any momentum of a possible comeback. Meanwhile, Strand was solid, completing six of 12 attempts for 50 yards, and picked up a rushing TD.

It sounds like Strand is making a real case for the job despite the Grand Canyon-sized experience gap.

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