Through two weeks of the NFL season, the Atlanta Falcons may have gotten the worst quarterbackplay in the league. Cooper Rushwas thrust into a starting rolelast week after Tua Tagovailoa went down with an injury before the season, and the QB3 hasn't given the Falcons enough to get wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers or Carolina Panthers.
It got to a point where the Falconsbenched Rush and put in fan-favorite Jack Strand, and he didn't look any better in the amount of time on the field. The Falcons are now 0-2, and things can get worse before they get any better. There's no doubt they need answers, and their final hope for the season is Michael Penix Jr. starting against the Green Bay Packers.
Falcons need a spark on offense
This might be the biggest sigh of relief for fans heading into Week 3, as Penix gives the offense the best chance to have any type of success. So far, the Falcons have yet to have a drive reach the red zone, and that's not good. Against the Panthers, it felt like they couldn't get into the scoring territory without turning the ball over.
Penix hasn't put anything on film this season as he's been rehabbing from his ACL injury last season, but there's still a good chance that he gets the Falcons to where they need to be. He has the best arm on the team, and Rush has shown over the past two weeks that it's hard for him to deliver the ball downfield with accuracy. He underthrew Jahan Dotson against the Panthers and did it with Kyle Pitts against the Steelers. Both of those passes could've been easy touchdowns.
That won't be a problem for Penix, and with the offensive talent the Falcons have, they need somebody who's going to deliver the ball with accuracy.
Michael Penix Jr. has to show the Falcons something
The last thing the Falcons want to do is start the season 0-3, and with the schedule they have coming up, it's very important they get a win real soon to find some momentum. If Penix doesn't turn out to be the person the Falcons expect him to be, then the season might actually take a turn for the worse. The only option they'll have left is Tagovailoa, and there's still uncertainty about when he'll return to the field.
This might be putting too much pressure on Penix in his first game back since last season, but the Falcons are looking for anything at this point. It'll all start on Thursday when they face off against the Packers. In all honesty, even if they lose, as long as Penix looks good, it might be a win in their books.
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