Falcons fans hoped Cooper Rush would be better this time. They serenaded the quarterback with cheers of “Coooop!” during player introductions on Sunday.
It took only two possessions before they turned against Rush with jeers of “Booooo!”
Rush decided to run for the first-down marker on the first play of the game. Panthers safety Zakee Wheatley knocked the ball loose. Teammate Nick Scott recovered, and the Panthers turned the giveaway into a touchdown.
That’s how the 2026 home opener started for the Falcons. It continued with their fans booing them for multiple displays of bad football. The day ended with a 34-3 loss that was mostly a waste of time for the paying customers.
The exception was a halftime performance by Florida A&M University’s Marching “100” Band.
“It’s time to show Atlanta what they came to see!” the band’s emcee announced as the performance started.
The band put on a good show. Anyone who came to see competent football from the Falcons left disappointed.
The people who spend time, money and emotional capital rooting for the Falcons deserve better than this.
The Falcons suffered their largest margin of defeat at home since December 2014 against Cam Newton’s Panthers. It was their worst loss ever at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened in 2017.
“Disappointed that we couldn’t be better for our fans,” said first-year Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski. “I think we have the best fans in the world, and they want to support us. But we’ve got to give them a reason to support us.”
The Falcons gave them next to nothing.
The lingering stick from this game makes it hard to think about the Falcons ending their playoff drought at eight years. That hopeless feeling is amplified by the history of 0-2 teams in the NFL.
During the NFL’s 14-team playoff era (since 2020), 44 teams started 0-2. Only eight of those teams qualified for the postseason. Three teams did it last year: Bears, Texas and Panthers.
The Bears and Texans both have good, young quarterbacks (Caleb Williams and C.J. Stroud, respectively). Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is inconsistent except for when he plays the Falcons. He earned his fifth victory in six starts against them.
The Falcons don’t have the benefit of playing themselves during their push for the playoffs. They also don’t have a healthy, competent quarterback on the roster.
Rush began the summer as the No. 3 QB. He was forced into the starting role because Michael Penix Jr. isn’t ready to play 10 months after ACL surgery and Tua Tagovailoa went on the injured list three days before the season opener in Pittsburgh.
Rush played poorly during the 20-13 loss to the Steelers. That was a day after he suffered back spasms. I figured Rush would perform better in Week 2 because his back had time to heal and he’d prepared all week to be the starter.
It didn’t take long to see that I was wrong.
The Panthers turned Rush’s lost fumble into a touchdown. The Falcons’ second drive ended with an interception by Rush. That play inspired the first round of boos.
The Falcons forced a punt after that turnover but went three-and-out when they got the ball back. More boos rang out. Some fans continued booing each time Rush went back into the game, or when yet another drive ended with no points.
“To me, it gives me more juice to go out there and prove everybody wrong,” Falcons wide receiver Drake London said. “If we have everything against us, then all you can do is push forward.”
Eventually, as the Falcons continued to spiral, it wasn’t clear if their fans were displeased with Rush for his performance or something else.
Maybe they were mad at Stefanski for continuing to play Rush. Perhaps fans blamed the front office for not doing better than the often-injured Tagovailoa at backup quarterback. It could be that they were lamenting the general cursed existence of their team.
The biggest cheers happened when exhibition star Jack Strand replaced Rush. The ovation had hardly died down when Rush threw a pick-six that put the Panthers ahead 34-3.
The Falcons are 0-2 for the first time since 2022. The sorry state of the NFC South provides some hope of a playoff run. The Panthers won the division last year with an 8-9 record and a three-way tiebreaker advantage over the Falcons and Buccaneers.
The Falcons need to go 8-7 from here on out to get to 8-9. The Falcons have a reconstructed defense that looks good enough if the team can get competent play from the quarterback. Rush hasn’t been able to clear that bar.
Penix could make his debut against the Packers on Thursday night, though Stefanski wouldn’t divulge the plan. If Penix plays, then maybe he can lead the Falcons to a victory and get the fans back on their side.
“I mean, yeah, it sucks,” Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom said of the boos. “For me, I understand their frustration. They’re frustrated in us as players and we are frustrated. ... In the same sense, it doesn’t impact our performance.
“It’s not a great feeling but, in the same sense, we know we have to be better. Players (are) buying in, there is no finger pointing or jumping on guys and stuff like that. I don’t know when (the boos) started, but the NFL is a long game, anything can happen.”
The boos started not long after kickoff. When the Panthers ended the first drive after halftime with a touchdown, the Falcons supporters who stuck around didn’t even bother expressing their displeasure.
You’ve got to care to be mad. The Falcons were so bad that apathy took over for their fans during the first home game of the season. They deserve better than that.
You can now get my column sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for my newsletter here.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
