To say the Atlanta Falcons had an uninspiring start to the 2026-27 season would be an understatement. After hiring Kevin Stefanski as the team\u2019s new head coach, Atlanta\u2019s offseason consisted of a quarterback battle between newly acquired veteran Tua Tagovailoa and second-year Falcon Michael Penix Jr. Unfortunately for the Falcons, both Tagovailoa and Penix missed the first two weeks of the season with injuries, leading to two starts for third-stringer Cooper Rush.<\/p>\n
Rush had a rough go of things<\/a> and was ultimately pulled in favor of undrafted rookie Jack Strand after turning the ball over three times in a 34-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.<\/p>\n Tagovialoa and Penix were finally available for Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers, the first of three consecutive weeks of nationally televised Falcons games.<\/a> Penix\u2019s first start of the year, along with a vaunted speech from Stefanski<\/a> after the loss to the Panthers, may have completely turned Atlanta\u2019s season around.<\/p>\n The second-year quarterback went 18-for-25 passing for 256 yards and a touchdown with one interception in a 35-14 win over Green Bay. After the Falcons\u2019 win, Pardon The Interruption\u2019s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon had their pregame takes resurfaced on the popular X account Freezing Cold Takes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Atlanta Falcons have no chance of beating the Green Bay Packers,\u201d Wilbon predicted on PTI. \u201cNone. Because look, Michael Penix, who I know you like, and you liked in college, and you were out there early on him, Michael Penix, every year, and he\u2019s easy to root for; he\u2019s engaging, gets hurt. He\u2019s carried out every year. Every year. And the Falcons get rid of the better players than they keep. So why do I think they\u2019re going to win? They\u2019re not going to win. This is a 20-point Packer win minimum.\u201d<\/p>\n Kornheiser didn\u2019t even have it in him to debate his co-host.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I should yell and scream here and take the other side, but I\u2019m not going to. The Atlanta Falcons are terrible. They\u2019re awful,\u201d Kornheiser asserted. \u201cUm, and it\u2019s their fault. Let\u2019s go back into the recent history. They signed,\u00a0 three years ago, maybe four years ago, they signed Kirk Cousins as their quarterback. In that draft, at number eight, they draft Michael Penix Jr., who gets hurt at that point every year in college. And it sabotages Kirk Cousins, right? It\u2019s a terrible thing for Kirk Cousins. OK, they play together. They\u2019re on the same team for 2 years. The Falcons go 8-9 and 8-9. They don\u2019t make the playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Atlanta Falcons have NO CHANCE of beating the Green Bay Packers. None.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/TzQOMXUd6C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) September 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey get rid of the coach. They get rid of the general manager. Cousins leaves. And Penix tears an ACL. So now they need a quarterback this year. Who do they get? They get Tua, who is almost as injury-prone as Michael Penix. Maybe even more so. OK. So he can\u2019t play, Penix can\u2019t play to this point, and they put Cooper Rush out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilbon pointed to Cousins\u2019 2-0 start as the starter for the Las Vegas Raiders as further evidence of Atlanta\u2019s incompetence as a franchise, before joining Christopher \u201cMad Dog\u201d Russo in letting the NFL schedule makers hear it<\/a> on ESPN for subjecting national audiences to Falcons football.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NFL should have looked at this,\u201d Wilbon said. \u201cThey could have seen this coming 10 days ago. And they should have gone and they said, you know, Atlanta, no. You can\u2019t have a primetime spot. We\u2019re not gonna allow you to stink up the airwaves with your product.\u201d<\/p>\n Although PTI picked the wrong team to win by 20 points on Thursday, Wilbon and Kornheiser were more than justified in questioning the availability of Penix and Tagovailoa over the course of a long NFL season. However, if Atlanta\u2019s quarterbacks can stay upright and deliver consistent performances, their take on Atlanta\u2019s organizational ineptitude will get colder by the week.<\/p>\n \t