In Kevin Stefanski's head coaching debut with the Atlanta Falcons, they traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers, where they lost 20-13. And with both Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa on the shelf, Atlanta was forced to turn to third-stringer Cooper Rush as the starter in a daunting matchup.
And Rush was the main reason the Falcons are kicking off the season 0-1 as opposed to 1-0. He completed 12 of 22 attempts for 145 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions (one pick-six) at Acrisure Stadium, which would make you think they'd consider benching him--which never happened.
In Rush's defense, he was dealing with back spasms entering this game, but Atlanta's coaching staff thought he was healthy enough to start. The other option was starting undrafted rookie Jack Strand in what would've been his NFL debut, but Stefanski defended rolling the dice on starting the veteran.
While addressing the media after the game, Stefanski was asked if there was ever any consideration of starting Strand given the 32-year-old's health, and while he never spelled it out as such, (likely to preserve the confidence of the youngster after his strong summer) his answer was a resounding no.
"Cooper was healthy and could start," Stefanski said.
The Atlanta Falcons never considered replacing Cooper Rush with Jack Strand
For as much as Falcons fans may have wanted to see Strand get the start as the higher-upside option of the two healthy-adjacent quarterbacks on this roster. And given he's also healthier, it would have made sense to roll with him, but Stefanski's decison to play it safe clearly was not the correct one--and anyone who saw him play this summer could've seen this coming. He's hardly QB3 material.
Based on what Kevin Stefanski said, two things are true: the Dirty Birds were always going to start Cooper Rush this week, and they were never going to consider benching him. And before you come at me, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just translating the clear message from the new head coach.
I think the two-time Coach of the Year realizes that throwing Strand into the fire for his first career start in a difficult road atmosphere against the Steelers, placing him behind a struggling offensive line and against an elite Steelers' pass-rush was very risky--but that still looks like the wrong decision.
The issue was that Rush was clearly hampered by this back issue, couldn't move the football (was unable to throw beyond five air yards), and had some of the worst turnovers I've ever seen. The fact they never even considered making a QB change to the youngster is criminal--especially since he didn't look 100%.
Kevin Stefanski also said he thought Cooper Rush was close to 100% in this matchup, which makes this even more baffling. All the signs pointed to the Falcons needing to start Jack Strand for a week until Penix or Tua return in Week 2, and his stubbornness saw them pay the price in Sunday's defeat.
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