5 instant reactions from Falcons' dominant primetime victory against the Packers

Entering tonight, the Atlanta Falcons were sitting at 0-2 and had yet to run a single play from the red zone all season, and with Michael Penix Jr. making his first start of 2026, they were hoping a primetime clash with the Green Bay Packers would get them back on track--and it's safe to say it did.

Despite playing on the road at Lambeau Field, the Falcons prevailed 35-14 for their first victory of the Kevin Stefanski era--and it was dominant. The offense returned to form, the defense stifled Jordan Love and the Packers, and the special teams looked like a net positive for the first time all season.

Kevin Stefanski was 5-0 on Thursday Night Football as the head coach of the Browns, and 4-0 after a loss-- but clearly his luck translated to his time with the Falcons. That in itself is incredibly exciting because we badly needed a commanding performance like this to believe in this new staff. If only we could play on TNF every week.

But with that said, here are the instant takeaways from the Week 3 win.

The biggest takeaways from the Atlanta Falcons' first victory of 2026

Bijan Robinson and Drake London overshadowed Michael Penix Jr.'s season debut

The biggest storyline of this game was Michael Penix Jr. returning to the starting lineup to make his season debut after the ACL tear he suffered in Week 11 of 2025. All eyes were on if he would cement himself as Atlanta's long-term franchise quarterback, and other than an early interception, he wasn't the story.--and that was thanks to Bijan Robinson and Drake London.

Bijan always goes Super Saiyan on primetime, and playing at Lambeau Field was no exception. While the Packers' run game couldn't get anything going, Robinson put not just the run game, but the offense on his back.

The All-Pro RB carried the fall 29 times for 194 yards and a touchdown (6.7 YPC), which was headlined by a 55-yard scamper that set up their first red zone drive of the season--and his first rushing touchdown of 2026.

And he wasn't alone. We all know about the 9-to-5 connection between Michael Penix Jr. and Drake London, and I guess injuries couldn't stop their rapport, as London hauled in nine of 10 targets for 194 yards that included gains of 40 and 68 yards after quiet games in the first two weeks.

C.J. Henderson is stepping up in A.J. Terrell's absence

Prior to this Thursday Night clash, the Falcons placed cornerback A.J. Terrell on injured reserve due to a groin injury suffered against the Panthers on Sunday. And with him set to miss a minimum of four games, the Dirty Birds turned to C.J. Henderson to start on the outside in his absence--and he also looked elite.

If I didn't know any better I'd think I was watching prime Revis Island, because the former first-round pick was locking everything down. Not only did Henderson record a team-high eight solo tackles, he logged three pass breakups, including this beautiful PBU to prevent Christian Watson from moving the chains.

I know C.J. Henderson was good in training camp, but seeing him look better than a healthy Terrell has been a pleasant surprise--and should be taken as confirmation that the secondary is in good hands until he returns.

The Mike Hughes experiment needs to end

Speaking of the cornerback room, the man who was starting opposite Henderson could not have been more of a liability on TNF. Mike Hughes has been Atlanta's CB2 for quite some time now, but he was a liability last season and offenses have continued to pick up him--including the Packers too.

Hughes was the primary defender in coverage on a 45-yard gain from Jordan Love to Matthew Golden--and was also covered on Golden's 15-yard touchdown. He caught four passes for 80 yards and a score for the best game of his NFL career--which was all because of No. 21. The fact of the matter is that most of the back-breaking plays from Green Bay were because of him.

It's making less and less sense why Terry Fontenot extended him before 2024 season, and it's time to find a new CB2... Perhaps Avieon Terrell or Billy Bowman Jr. can move to the outside. until A.J. Terrell can return--because this guy is not even starter-worthy. Thank god for the out in his contract.

Kendal Daniels is looking more and more like a gem

The Atlanta Falcons' rookie class looked particularly impressive in Green Bay. Zachariah Branch started to make more of an impact on offense, but fourth-round rookie Kendal Daniels was a young MVP, as he's embraced the role of being a starter next to Divine Deablo by stopping the run.

But Daniels continues to make Ian Cunningham look like a genius for letting Kaden Elliss walk to draft him--and that continued at Lambeau. He logged an early TFL and two run stops that just continued to prove what we already knew: this kid is a keeper.

This team no longer looks like a bottom feeder

Everybody and their mother was counting the Falcons out after the first two weeks because they looked absolutely dismal with Cooper Rush. There were people ranking them last in NFL power rankings and saying they'd be picking first in the 2027 NFL Draft--off of two weeks with an emergency QB in the starting lineup.

And for as discombobulated as Stefanski and company looked in the first two games, Penix's return awakened everybody. For all the people saying they whiffed on this hire and should regret firing Raheem Morris are awful silent right now, because this was never ending in a one-and-done.

You could see this team felt different. The offense finally had some juice, the defense stifled basically everything Green Bay did, and they looked like they would make some noise in the NFC South if they can string this together.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow