Falcons reportedly make Cooper Rush, Michael Penix Jr. decision for Panthers game

As of Friday morning, there seemed to be at least a chance that first-year Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski could choose from one of four options to serve as his starting quarterback for Atlanta's home game versus the 0-1 Carolina Panthers this coming Sunday afternoon. 

It turns out the Falcons' actual quarterback situation was far less interesting than some had hoped. 

Song remains the same for the Falcons' QB1 situation

On Friday afternoon, insider Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared that Rush was "taking the first-team reps" and "is expected to start Week 2." Rapoport added that Penix is "not quite ready" to play against a live defense in a meaningful game. 

While Tua Tagovailoa had been named the Falcons' starter ahead of Week 1, he suffered an oblique injury on Sept. 10. That issue kept him from playing on Sept. 13 and from practicing on Wednesday and Thursday.

"[Tagovailoa] remains unavailable for Atlanta as he deals with an oblique injury that popped up ahead of Week 1," Rapoport explained. 

As for Penix, he is working to clear physical and mental hurdles related to his ongoing recovery from the surgery he needed last fall to repair a partially torn ACL. This week, Penix revealed that he still had "some goals" he wanted to hit before he could return to the lineup. 

A previous report suggested that Penix won't hit those goals before Atlanta's Week 3 game at the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 24. Tagovailoa's status for that matchup was unclear as of Friday. 

Could the Falcons start an undrafted rookie in Week 3? 

Rush was hardly impressive in Atlanta's 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 13, as he went 12-for-22 passing with 143 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and a league-worst 5.0 adjusted QBR. 

Meanwhile, the Falcons also have undrafted rookie Jack Strand in their quarterback room, and he was Atlanta's primary backup against Pittsburgh. Presumably, Stefanski could consider giving Strand the nod against the Packers in the event that Rush produces a dud against the Panthers, and neither Penix nor Tagovailoa can start against Green Bay.

As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Atlanta as a 2.5-point home underdog against Carolina.