NFL Preview | September 24, 2026
Week 3's Thursday game is a season-saving start for a quarterback who hasn't played meaningful football in ten months, on the road, at one of the sport's toughest venues, with almost no practice time to prepare for it. Atlanta is 0-2 and needs this to work immediately. Kickoff is 8:15 PM ET on Prime Video from Lambeau Field.
A Season-Saving Debut With Almost No Runway
Atlanta Falcons @ Green Bay Packers | 8:15 PM ET | Prime Video
KEY STAT
7
Turnovers the Falcons have committed through two games — five interceptions, two lost fumbles — while scoring just 16 total points under Cooper Rush. Michael Penix Jr. takes over Thursday with almost no practice runway to fix it.
Michael Penix Jr. was Atlanta's intended starter from the moment the offseason began, but an ACL tear last November and an oblique injury to fallback option Tua Tagovailoa in Week 1 meant Atlanta opened the year with Cooper Rush, who went 22-of-39 for 229 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions across two losses before losing his job. Penix was a full practice participant all week and gets thrown straight into a short-week road trip to Lambeau Field — about as unforgiving a first start as the schedule could offer, with essentially no live reps to install a game plan around him. Tagovailoa is healthy enough to back him up, at least.
Green Bay enters 1-1 after an ugly 39-22 loss at Minnesota and a wild 20-17 overtime escape at the Jets, with Jordan Love throwing for 532 yards and 4 touchdowns across those two games. The Packers aren't fully healthy either — they're without Josh Jacobs in the backfield, receiver Jayden Reed is dealing with a neck issue, and the offensive line has its own questions with a starter already ruled out — but a home short-week matchup against a team switching quarterbacks on the fly is exactly the kind of spot Green Bay should be favored in.
Atlanta wins if Penix looks like the quarterback the Falcons traded up for in 2024 rather than a player making his first start in ten months, and the offense stops giving the ball away.
Green Bay wins if Love builds on his hot start and the Packers' defense makes Atlanta's new quarterback earn everything the hard way.
PICK
GB -5.5
O/U 42.5
Under ↓
A quarterback change on four days' rest, on the road, against a team that just hung 532 passing yards over two games is too much to ask Atlanta to overcome. Take Green Bay to cover at home, and take the under — turnover-prone offenses and short-week installs tend to produce more punts than points.
What to Watch For Thursday Night.
Watch how much of the playbook Atlanta actually opens up for Penix given the short week, and watch Green Bay's banged-up offensive line against a Falcons pass rush that needs a spark of its own. We'll have the recap Friday, plus the season-to-date record heading into a full Week 3 slate.