Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — It's August, but the Atlanta Falcons are not trending in the right direction. Two weeks ago, Atlanta was riding high on news of a massive extension for star running back Bijan Robinson, their offensive core locked up as they moved forward with new coach Kevin Stefanski. Just hours after news of Robinson's extension, though, the Falcons lost promising edge rusher Jalon Walker to a season-ending knee injury.
Then, hours before Friday's preseason opener, less surprising news came that their other starting edge, James Pearce, would be suspended for the first eight games of 2026 related to an offseason domestic violence arrest. Then came a rough night against the Denver Broncos. It was only the preseason, but it was Atlanta's only such game at home, and Denver rolled out to a 24-0 lead before halftime.
At one point, the Broncos had outgained the Falcons 217-28, enough to draw a smattering of boos from the home crowd. Atlanta held out Robinson on Friday, as well as key parts of its defensive secondary, but what was out there didn't look good. New quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had a snap go off his hand on the second play to scuttle one drive, and he managed only one first down on his only other drive.
Backup Cooper Rush promptly threw two interceptions, with the second one being returned 97 yards for a touchdown. "What we put out there is not a reflection of the hard work that we've put in the first two weeks of training camp," Tagovailoa said after the game. "It does no justice for the work that our coaches as well have implemented.
It starts with me. I've got to be better with that." "Our standard for our football team, offense, defense, special teams, remains the same whether it's the first quarter or the fourth quarter of the preseason game," Stefanski added. "So not good enough really across the board, and again, that's why we'll get back to work." Tagovailoa, cut by the Miami Dolphins after two straight disappointing seasons, was brought in to compete with third-year pro Michael Penix Jr., who is recovering from knee surgery but has gone 4-8 in limited work as a starter.
Stefanski is an offensive-minded coach, and the team has extended its young core — Robinson, receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts — with new deals totaling $270 million. But will the Falcons' defense hold up without its top two pass-rushers for the first two months of the season? Atlanta took a major step forward in 2025, going from 31 sacks in 2024 (second-fewest in the NFL) to 57 sacks, second-most last year.
The depth behind Walker and Pearce isn't exactly starter caliber, though. Samson Ebukam, 31, had two sacks with the Indianapolis Colts last year and is playing on a one-year, $2.8 million deal and Azeez Ojulari, 26, missed much of last year with a hamstring injury and had zero sacks, signing on a league-minimum veteran deal. The response to losing Walker was signing Cam Sample, 26, who had two sacks last year with the Cleveland Browns.
"Next man up," Ebukam said after the game. "It's football. It's the NFL.
Obviously, we're going to miss [Pearce], but he's going to be back and he's going to be strong." If the Pearce suspension was anticipated, Walker's injury could not have been, but the Falcons have not added a proven pass-rusher since he was lost for the year. Leonard Floyd, 33, started 15 games for Atlanta last year with 3.5 sacks and remains unsigned, and other older options have recently signed elsewhere, with Jadeveon Clowney landing with the Houston Texans and Von Miller with the Dallas Cowboys. The Falcons were able to scoop Za'Darius Smith on Tuesday, agreeing to a one-year deal with the soon-to-be 34-year-old edge rusher.
But while Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler, he logged just 1.5 sacks in five games for the Philadelphia Eagles last season before stepping away. "Again, confident in our group. Injuries are part of this game," Stefanski said when asked about his existing depth.
"We talked about that with losing Jalon. Don't like it, but we trust that we have the guys to step up." It's possible the Falcons comb the waiver wire for edge help at final cuts, and there are still unsigned veterans, though their dropoff in production explains why they're available in August. Haason Reddick, who had 2.5 sacks in 12 starts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, overlapped with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich with the Jets in 2024, but that might not be a positive history.
Another concern in the middle of the defense is at linebacker, where Atlanta lost Kaden Elliss, a 100-tackle starter in each of the last three seasons, in free agency to the Saints. Atlanta did little to replace him, using two third-day draft picks on linebackers and signing Christian Harris, a former Texans starter who was mostly a special-teams player in Houston last season. The NFC South is closely bunched enough that all four teams can enter the season with the confidence they could win the division, but a slow start could be trouble for the Falcons.
They open the year with three of four games on the road, including two against 2025 playoff teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Then they're home to face three of their toughest opponents of the year in the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers. It's possible they could open 2-5 or worse in the first seven without even playing that poorly.
Penix isn't fully cleared in his recovery, and Stefanski said he's comfortable waiting before a starting quarterback is chosen between him and Tagovailoa, whose nine-play debut Friday was a small sample, but one that left room for improvement. "He wants to get better. Our offense wants to get better.
Our coaches want to be better in those nine plays," Stefanski said Monday. "But our focus will be continuing to get ready for this season and not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We want to be where our feet are, try to improve on some of the small things that we identify as coaches and correct them."
