The Atlanta Falcons performed about as well as a team starting Cooper Rush should, as they found themselves unable to prevail against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that didn't exactly cover themselves in glory.
Week 1's 20-13 loss, which was highlighted by two Rush interceptions, missed kicks by Nick Folk, and a general inability to take advantage of Pittsburgh's mistakes. This is a tough loss for Kevin Stefanski in his first game as Falcons head coach, but it was softened by the fact that his rivals in the NFC South also looked less-than-impressive.
With the Carolina Panthers looking like a paper-thin defensive front, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shooting themselves in the foot, and the New Orleans Saints being on the receiving end of some equally bad quarterback play early on, no one in the division fired on all cylinders in Week 1. This should give the Falcons reassurance that things can turn around.
Atlanta Falcons fans can feel better after Week 1 loss due to NFC South's struggles
Caleb Williams is a tremendous quarterback, but giving up 31 first-half points and 59 in total to this Chicago Bears offense at home is a sign of a team that was completely unprepared for what came next. It took one of the finest games of Bryce Young's career against a beaten-up Bears defense without much of a pass rush to get them back on track.
Luckily for Atlanta, Week 2 pits them against this very same Carolina defense.
Tampa Bay, fresh off signing Mayfield to a three-year contract worth $55 million that pays him like one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, might be asking for some receipts. Mayfield uncorked a lackluster showing against a very exploitable Cincinnati Bengals defense, primarily on the back of some bad fumbles.
Even if no one expected New Orleans to win on the road in a tough environment like Detroit, watching Shough throw two interceptions and lose a fumble to let the Lions off the hook despite a fairly subpar performance on their end has to fill Saints fans with some dread. How often is he going to throw for 400 yards?
The Atlanta Falcons looked worse than they are because of Cooper Rush
At a certain point, the lack of quarterback talent Rush put on display was so impossible to work around that this showing can't even be put on Stefanski or the Falcons as a roster. The defense held up, and Bijan Robinson made some plays. Rush's noodle arm is so below NFL standards that the fact that Stefanski managed to get as many points out of him as he did is a minor miracle.
While Tagovailoa is not a very good quarterback, even him at his worst has proven to be leaps and bounds above what Rush has been over the last few years.
Even though the scoreline was what it was, the Falcons showed some indications of a team that can make some noise when they actually have NFL talent at quarterback. As the rest of the division showed, Atlanta can take some losses on the chin and still be in a position to make a playoff run.
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