Falcons Can’t Overcome Quarterback Struggles in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH – The intended quarterback didn't play, while the one who did threw two interceptions and couldn't find anyone but Bijan Robinson. Some things change, but not for the Atlanta Falcons, who are 0-1 for the eighth time in the last nine seasons after a 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The defense played well enough for the Falcons to win, and Bijan Robinson was as outstanding as ever (173 total yards and a touchdown), but poor quarterback play doomed them yet again. 

Tua Tagovailoa was supposed to be the starter on Sunday, while Michael Penix Jr. completes his recovery, but an oblique injury held him out of this game. Instead, the Falcons’ hopes rested on third-string quarterback Cooper Rush, and it did not go well. 

After being thrust into the lineup late in the week, and Rush battling back spasms of his own on Saturday night, the Falcons were somewhat fortunate to have him at all on Sunday. 

“He battled, like I knew he would. I’m proud of him for how he fought through to the end,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said about Rush’s performance. “Obviously, we don’t want to turn the ball over and those types of things, but we’ve got to look at ways that we can help him.”

One of those ways would be to keep him clean, but Rush’s offensive line did him no favors in that regard. The ferocious Steeler front seven hounded him throughout the game, sacking him four times, hurrying him four more, and regularly batting down his passes at the line of scrimmage. He rarely had a chance to finish his dropbacks before pressure was in his face, but even when those opportunities came, the results weren't what the Falcons offense needed. 

His average air yards was a meager 2.1 yards per attempt, and he never had much of a chance to extend that number with the pass rush bearing down on him. 

When it wasn’t a sack, the self-inflicted errors plagued this offense. The Falcons were penalized seven times for 87 yards in the first half, making any hope for offensive rhythm impossible. Holding penalties often erased positive drives, knocking the offense out of field goal range. 

“This league is hard enough, but if we get penalties that put us behind the sticks, it’s hard,” Rush said. “I felt we were resilient and kept playing ball. We’ve got to clean those up if we want to win in this league.”

But Rush was off target far too often, finishing 12-of-22 passing, with nearly every completion coming on a pass within five yards of the line of scrimmage. His lone touchdown pass came on a screen to Robinson, where his star running back did all the work. 

In fact, that was the story of this game. When he was running the football (21 carries for 83 yards), Robinson was the only pass catcher who could get involved. He was targeted on 45% of Rush’s passes and made up 67% of his completions, while the rest of the Falcons’ offense caught just four passes (nine targets). 

“Bijan’s a great player, and we’re going to keep leaning on him in all these games,” Stefanski said. “But we’ve got to find ways to get all of our guys the touches, and that is definitely going to be a focus of ours.” 

Rush couldn't spread the targets around or push the ball downfield, and the entire offense suffered. Without that threat, the Steelers could pin their ears back and push up the field, which is how the game-winning pick-six to T.J. Watt came to be. His first interception, which was a simple overthrow of Jahan Dotson, set the Steelers up for their first touchdown of the game. 

“I wish I played better,” Rush said after the game. “Wish I put us in a better position to win.” 

Despite his struggles, Stefanski confirmed after the game that the team did not consider a change at quarterback, moving to rookie Jack Strand, but relief could be on the way for the Falcons. 

Tagovailoa should be back in the mix next week, but NFL insider Ian Rapoport also reported on Sunday morning that Penix could be available as early as Week 2 against Carolina or Week 3 against Green Bay. The insider said that was “the target for him,” but we will see come next week if that is a reality. 

Stefanski did not provide an update after the game when asked, but the Falcons’ ceiling feels dramatically lower without at least one of them under center moving forward.