It's safe to say that the Kevin Stefanski era in Atlanta hasn't gotten off to a strong start. In Week 1, the Atlanta Falcons traveled to Acrisure Stadium to face off with Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they did so whle incredibly shorthanded, which resulted in a rough defeat.
With both Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa sidelined due to injury, the Falcons were forced to start Cooper Rush this afternoon--which went about as horibly as you could've expected. The offense fell flat, Rush struggled, and Atlanta ultimately fell to the Steelers 20-13.
Despite the loss and the negative circumstances, we managed to come away from this matchup able to truly evaluate this new regime and get our first glimpse of what this team could be this season. And while a lot wasn't positive, here are the most immediate takeaways from Atlanta's Week 1 loss.
What storylines stood out in the Atlanta Falcons' season opener?
The score made it look much closer than it actually was
By the margin of victory, you'd think the Falcons actually put up a decent fight on the road against a stout Steelers' defense. And while that is true (to an extent) since they made an unprecedented number of mistakes and penalties, Pittsburgh did the same and should've won by a whole lot more.
DK Metcalf couldn't catch a cold and outside of a T.J. Watt pick-six, they failed to take advantage of the Dirty Birds' several turnovers. Despite starting the superior quarterback, their offense was just as stagnant, so had Tua or Penix started, it's hard to imagine this team doesn't start 2026 out with a win.
Cooper Rush has no business seeing an NFL field
Speaking of abysmal quarterback play, Cooper Rush was absolutely horrible. We knew he was dealing with back spasms entering the matchup, but Atlanta's staff deemed him healthy enough to start. But you wouldn't know that off of watching him play because he was stifled by this Steeler defense all day.
He completed 12 of 22 pass attempts for 143 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions--including that aforementioned pick-six. He was genuinely unable to move the football beyond five air yards, and if it wasn't for Bijan Robinson bailing him out all afternoon, this score would've looked a lot worse.
It was genuinely baffling to see Stefanski not even consider putting in Jack Strand given how awful his starter looked.
Bijan Robinson deserves a statue
The only reason the Atlanta Falcons stayed in this game was because of the offensive production the yielded--and basically all of that came courtesy of Bijan Robinson. They recorded 238 yards of total offense, but between the pass game and the ground game, 173 (83 run, 90 pass) of those yards (72.7%) were Bijan.
Those numbers are insane. Yes, they dumbed down the offense and played the "get it to 7" game given they were starting a QB they had no trust in in Rush, so the entire gameplan revolved around him. And once again, he's proved he is an elite weapon in every facet and put the unit onhis back.
While Drake London and Kyle Pitts fell victim to Robinson's elite usage, it's safe to say Ian Cunningham doesn't regret the lucrative three-year extension he signed him to this summer. And it proves that no matter how bad the QB play will get, this guy will always make fantasy managers proud.
Za'Darius Smith impressed in his Falcons debut
For all of the issues the Falcons endured on offense, the defense impressed. They consistently got pressure on Aaron Rodgers, kept Pittsburgh's passing game in check, and even the run game looked solid. But perhaps the biggest bright spot for Jeff Ulbrich's unit was new pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith.
In his Falcons debut, Smith proved that age is just a number and that retirement won't stop him from getting to the quarterback. The 32-year-old recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss despite entering the week on the injury report--but I guess that shoulder injury turned out to not affect him.
Jawaan Taylor proved we were right to be concerned
We talked already about how sloppy the Falcons were in regards to penalties, but their nine penalties for 96 yards mostly came courtesy of the offensive line. And Jawaan Taylor, who is one of the NFLs most-penalized linemen, was called for one, doing nothing to alleviate the concerns fans had about him.
He spent the majority of the afternoon getting exposed by Watt, and the worst play came on his pick-six. He just stood there and watched him waltz into the end zone instead of trying to make any effort to tackle him, so I guess his preseason struggles (and recent issues) were not a mirage.
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