Michael Penix Jr. officially named Falcons starter for a short-week trial by fire against Packers

The mercifully short Cooper Rush era in Atlanta is officially dead , even if unwatchable Falcons football is still alive and well.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski officially named Michael Penix Jr.

QB1 for Thursday night’s clash against the Packers, desperately seeking any sign of life from an offense that hit absolute rock bottom during an atrocious 0-2 start.

Penix has been sidelined since November 2025 after suffering his third career ACL tear in a Week 11 loss to Carolina .

After playing it cautious all summer and splitting first-team reps last week, Penix finally gave his reconstructed left knee the green light.

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Through two weeks, Atlanta's offense has limped to just 16 total points and hasn't snapped the ball a single time inside the red zone.

ATLANTA FALCONS ARE DEALING WITH THE WORST QUARTERBACK SITUATION IN THE NFL AND IT ISN'T EVEN CLOSE Rush was handed the Week 2 start after putting up a dismal 2.6 QBR in the opener, and the sequel was even uglier.

He coughed up three turnovers against Carolina with two picks and a lost fumble before getting benched in the third quarter.

Undrafted rookie Jack Strand entered in relief and immediately tossed a pick-six, capping off a complete disaster for Atlanta's passing game.

Atlanta ended up in this spot after offseason signee Tua Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury during a Thursday practice right before Week 1.

Tagovailoa had won the starting job in training camp, leaving Rush to take over by default.

FALCONS NAME SIXTH DIFFERENT WEEK 1 STARTING QUARTERBACK IN SIX YEARS Stefanski held off on making the announcement official until addressing the locker room on Monday afternoon.