Falcons set to face tough slate of quarterbacks early in 2026

It’s difficult to predict how NFL teams will fare in any given season. The league engineers parity among its teams. Injuries always happen. Luck is fickle.

Quarterbacks are the constant for the best franchises. We already knew that the Falcons would face six very good QBs, and two pretty good ones, in 2026. Ideally, those games would be spread out across the schedule.

That didn’t happen.

When the Falcons released their schedule Thursday night, the first thing I noticed is that they are set to face good quarterbacks in five of their first seven games. Make it six, if Saints quarterback Tyler Shough builds on his promising rookie season.

The Falcons open at Pittsburgh against old pro Aaron Rodgers and are set to face young star Jordan Love in Green Bay during Week 3 on Thursday night. After playing at the Saints on Monday night in Week 4, the Falcons have three consecutive home games against good quarterbacks: Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Caleb Williams (Bears) and Brock Purdy (49ers).

The Falcons are set to play back-to-back games against two great quarterbacks in November: Joe Burrow’s Bengals in Madrid and Chiefs legend Patrick Mahomes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. At least the Falcons will have had time to develop their defense by then.

The early slate of good opposing quarterbacks could be a problem.

The Falcons made strides on defense last season. Then several of their good defenders signed elsewhere in free agency. The Falcons have holes at every level of the defense, and they’ll be filled by young players or veterans who aren’t as good as the ones who left.

The Falcons will get a test from the start if Rodgers plays a 22nd season. The Steelers still expect him back.

Rodgers, 42, is no longer good enough to carry his team on deep playoff runs. He still can win enough games to get them there. The Steelers won the AFC North last season with victories in four of their last five games, including the finale versus Baltimore.

Now, the Falcons will face Rodgers on the road before he’s had any wear and tear on his body. And new coach Mike McCarthy has a long track record of producing good offensive teams, first in Green Bay with Rodgers and then in Dallas with Dak Prescott.

Things theoretically should be easier for the Falcons in Weeks 2 (vs. Carolina) and 4 (at New Orleans).

Panthers QB Bryce Young has never been a consistent starter. Young has a four-game winning streak against the Falcons, though. The Falcons won both games against Shough last season, but the Saints added solid veterans at running back and offensive guard.

After facing Burrow and Holmes, the Falcons will finally get a break from seeing good quarterbacks over the final seven weeks.

Lions QB Jared Goff is the best of the bunch. Washington’s Jayden Daniels was AP offensive rookie of the year in 2024. Injuries contributed to his second-year regression.

The rest of the opposing QBs at the back end of the Falcons’ schedule are Young, Shough, castoff Kyler Murray (Vikings) and (probably) diminished former star Deshaun Watson (Browns). Where the Falcons stand then will depend on how well they manage the early part of their schedule.

It can be hard to remember now because of how things turned out, but the Falcons started strong in each of the past two seasons.

They were 6-3 in 2024 before the Kirk Cousins Experiment backfired. The Falcons lost the next four games. They won three of their first five games in 2025 before a five-game losing streak scuttled the season.

The Falcons finished 8-9 in both 2024 and ’25. They are hoping things will be different with new coach Kevin Stefanski.

His starting quarterback for Week 1 will be Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa. Penix hasn’t proved he’s the guy over 12 starts and had ACL surgery in November. Tagovailoa made the Pro Bowl with the Dolphins in 2023 but washed out because of injuries and poor play.

The Falcons need one of those quarterbacks to be good from the start in 2026 because, barring injuries or a change of heart by Rodgers, they’ll face good QBs in five of their first seven games.