The Atlanta Falcons' offense fell flat in their 20-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7. After taking the nation by storm on primetime against Josh Allen and the Bills in Week 6, Michael Penix Jr. and the Dirty Birds managed to take a massive step in the wrong direction on Sunday Night Football.
Luckily, the Falcons will host Tua Tagovailoa and the struggling Miami Dolphins in Week 8. The Phins are arguably the biggest disaster in the NFL right now, as a fourth straight loss could spell the end of Mike McDaniel's time in Miami—and potentially lead to a quarterback change.
However, it won't come easy for the Dirty Birds. Michael Penix Jr. suffered a bone bruise in his knee in the Week 7 loss and remains day-to-day for Week 8. That means it could be Kirk Cousins drawing his first start of the season against a vulnerable Dolphins defense.
Falcons' final Week 8 injury report is exposing cracks in the armor
In addition to Penix, Atlanta still has a laundry list of injured players to take note of. Divine Deablo suffered a fractured forearm and is a candidate to be placed on IR, while Jake Matthews will continue playing through his high-ankle sprain.
Moreover, Jalon Walker and Billy Bowman Jr. are both set to miss their second consecutive game, while Drake London and Tyler Allgeier were both added to the injury report this week. With that said, here is the Friday injury report entering Sunday.
Did not participate:
- ILB Divine Deablo (forearm)
- EDGE Jalon Walker (groin)
- CB Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring)
Limited participation:
- WR Darnell Mooney (hamstring)
- WR Drake London (hip)
- QB Michael Penix Jr. (knee)
- RB Tyler Allgeier (hip/knee)
- CB Mike Ford Jr. (calf)
- T Jake Matthews (ankle)
- TE Feliepe Franks (calf)
- DL Ta'Quon Graham (calf)
- DL Zach Harrison (knee)
Full:
- WR KhaDarrel Hodge (pectoral)
- S Jordan Fuller (knee)
- OL Storm Norton (foot)
Out:
- ILB Divine Deablo (forearm)
- EDGE Jalon Walker (groin)
- CB Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring)
- OL Storm Norton (foot)
Let's break this down, because there is a lot of moving parts here. Penix has practiced every day this week—albeit in a limited fashion—but is on track to play. However, Raheem Morris did tell the media that Kirk Cousins received a lot of snaps in practice, meaning he could be taking the field on Sunday.
Raheem Morris said Kirk Cousins took a “significant” amount of reps this week with Penix banged up. Morris said Cousins got more reps late in the week rather than early. But Morris also added that his positive feelings about Penix playing from early in the week have not changed.…
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 24, 2025
Penix thinks he'll be able to play, but Atlanta is in no rush to bring him back against a weak opponent. As for Matthews, he and Darnell Mooney logged three consecutive limited practices, but have no designation and are good to go against the Dophins.
Allgeier, Zach Harrison, and Mike Ford Jr. picked up three straight limited sessions, but are listed as questionable—though practice participation suggests they are likely to play.
However, Storm Norton practiced in full all week, but the Dirty Birds will wait another week before activating him from IR. But unlike Norton, Jordan Fuller will make his season debut this weekend.
Something else worth noting is that London was added to Friday's injury report with a hip injury, but it was a precaution and will play in Week 8.
Not having Deablo or Walker is pretty devastating since JD Betrand is the main replacement, but thankfully, everything else seems relatively minor, and the team can return to form against the Phins.