The Atlanta Falcons’ Biggest Adversaries Are the Atlanta Falcons

Will Either Michael Penix or Tua Tagovailoa Grab the Reigns?

Beyond the fact that they’re both lefties, Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix share two other similarities: Both are team players, and both have extensive injury histories. 

Each of those is going to work against the Falcons.

Penix is still rehabbing from a November ACL tear. His Week 1 status is up in the air.

“I was told that [it could be] another four weeks,” Penix said in a late-July press conference. “But at the same time, you know, it could be earlier. It just depends on how my body is doing throughout this whole camp.”

That leaves Tagovailoa as the backup option. This new change of scenery should actually help Tua. Anything is better for him than what was going on down in Miami.

But Tua is one bad sack away from not only sitting on the sideline with a concussion, but potentially retiring from football. Thankfully for Atlanta, the Dolphins are the ones paying the bulk of his salary this year, but having Tua as a backup doesn’t scream “security blanket”. Cooper Rush and the undrafted Jack Strand from Minnesota State-Moorhead are the third- and fourth-string options currently.

Is This Tua’s Time to Shine?

It’s incredibly admirable the way Tua has carried himself through his concussion tribulations. By all accounts, he’s an incredibly hard worker who loves football and his teammates. As the more veteran of the two QBs, Tua has said he wants to impart any wisdom he can to Penix, who is still just trying to get two legs underneath himself.

But it’s hard to picture a QB room with two physically fragile players, who are each going to be supportive of the guys on the other side, creating a bona fide first option and on-field leader of the team.

Just like the Kirk Cousins situation, the Falcons have left themselves with two QBs that don’t inspire enough confidence in the organization’s direction. This season will be a constant back-and-forth about who is the better option between Penix and Tua, masking the flaws everyone knows are there, and wasting the primes of the highly skilled weapons they have at their disposal. 

The Falcons need someone to grab hold of this team and orchestrate wins. Neither Penix nor Tua are in the right headspace to do that this year.

Kevin Stefanski Is Atlanta’s Best Chance at Change

Thankfully for the Falcons, Kevin Stefanski actually feels like someone who knows how to build a successful football team.

The two-time Coach of the Year winner has lost a lot of his shine since his peak in Cleveland. Though he may not have won a playoff game while on the sidelines for the Browns, just taking that organization to the playoffs a few times might be Hall of Fame-worthy.

Stefanski takes over a Falcons squad in the midst of a hangover from the firable offenses of GM Terry Fontenot; the Cousins trade, the trade up for Penix, and even the trade up for James Pearce have all turned out to be setbacks.

Stefanski’s offenses have traditionally featured wide-zone, play-action schemes. Those thrive when paired with a high-end running back, and Bijan Robinson is the best one in the league by a mile, based on how Atlanta just paid him.

If there’s any reason to believe in the Falcons this year, it’s because they actually found a coach that can get more out of their players in Stefanski.

James Pearce Jr. Was the Answer, Then Became the Problem

Sacking the opponent’s QB is a great way to kill drives and win football games. 

The Falcons hadn’t finished in the top half of sacks in the NFL since 2017 before last year. They were in the bottom two in the entire league three times from 2021-24.

Last season, they finished second only to the historic Broncos’ front seven. A big reason why was James Pearce Jr., the Falcons’ first-round pick from 2025 who led the team in sacks with 10.5.

But as we’ve discussed, the Falcons can’t have anything nice without the rug being pulled from under them. Pearce was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor in February for an incident involving his ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson.

Pearce has participated in various training camp activities, but he appears to be awaiting a suspension from the NFL. Time will tell how long it will be or when it will be handed out to the Falcons, but with limited talent in the front seven, the Falcons need Pearce to build on his standout rookie season.

The Falcons Are Putting Their Heads Down, Hopefully

Pearce’s incident involving a vehicle and law enforcement does actually seem to bring the Falcons closer to embodying the spirit of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Perhaps this is the year the Falcons get serious. Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris couldn’t lead this cursed franchise. Desmond Ridder, Marcus Mariota, Taylor Heinicke and Kirk Cousins all were flawed options that flamed out. Michael Penix has one more shot before he joins that list. Same goes for Tua.

The Falcons have the tools, the talent and the path to making the playoffs. Now can they just get out of their own way?