The Atlanta Falcons did not look good in their first two games of the 2026 National Football League regular season. They were beaten 20-13 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one and were offensively inept in a 34-3 week two loss to the Carolina Panthers.
However in week three, the Falcons got their starting quarterback back as Michael Penix Jr. played his first NFL game after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in Week 11 of last year against the Panthers. As a result, the Falcons offense looked terrific and was completely in sync.
Penix Jr. completed 18 of 25 passes for 256 passing yards, with one touchdown. The major score was a five yard pass to tight end Austin Hooper of San Mateo, California.
With Penix Jr. returning to quarterback, he simply made the rest of the Falcons offense better. Running back Bijan Robinson of Tucson, Arizona had 213 total yards (194 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving) and one touchdown. He became the first player ever to have 150 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in five consecutive road games according to Matt Larter of The Big Lead.
The other Falcons offensive star was wide receiver Drake London of Moorpark, California, who had 194 yards receiving, a career high. Clearly, the Packers defense was missing the injured Micah Parsons.
As a unit, the Packers offensive line was manhandled by the Falcons defensive line. Another reason why Atlanta got their first win of the season is because the Packers only had 17 yards rushing.
