How Falcons, Stefanski have fared in short weeks in recent years

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons suffered their worst home loss in Mercedes-Benz Stadium history Sunday, falling 34-3 to the Panthers, and they have no time to toil in their sorrows.

The Packers — and a primetime appearance — await the Falcons at 8:15 p.m. Thursday inside Lambeau Field. It’s a tough environment on a national stage with little momentum behind them, but it’s also a chance to wipe away the frustrations of an 0-2 start.

“Those types of losses aren’t always easy (to flush), but it definitely helps that it’s a short week,” safety Xavier Watts said Monday. “So, obviously got to really shift your mind. Can’t linger on this way too much at all. So, just flushing it out the way and just getting ready for the next game is pretty cool as well.”

And historically, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski has been quite good at getting his teams prepared for short weeks.

Stefanski never lost a “Thursday Night Football” game across six seasons as the Browns’ head coach, spanning 2020-25. He went 5-0, winning one game in each of his first five campaigns while not coaching a Thursday night contest in 2025.

In four of the Browns’ five victories, they had lost the week before. In 2020, Stefanski earned his first win as an NFL head coach in a Thursday night matchup.

The Falcons have been strong of late, too. They’ve won their last two “Thursday Night Football” appearances, taking victories in 2024 and ’25. Including Sunday night and Monday night games, the team went 4-1 in primetime contests last season.

Be it because of prior success or the opportunity to move past a slow start, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson said it’s a “blessing,” not a curse, for the team to have a short week after Sunday’s showing.

“That’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ — I love those kinds of games,” Robinson said Sunday. “That’s primetime, so we get to go out there and have fun playing. We have to regroup, get back to it and go to the Packers and put on a show. But I think it’s a blessing for us.”

The Falcons didn’t require their players to get into the building until noon Monday, when they had an hourlong lift. They had team meetings and a walk-through Monday, leading into meetings and a quick practice Tuesday. On Wednesday, the team will have a walk-through, then fly to Green Bay.

The brevity of the schedule creates challenges during the week.

“When you’re a part of these, you kind of have to compress everything that you’ve got going from a game-plan perspective,” Stefanski said. “So, working on that right now.”

The Falcons will look different when they take the field Thursday. The team announced Monday afternoon that Michael Penix Jr. will start at quarterback, making his return to the field after a 10-month rehab from a torn ACL suffered in November.

There’s optimism Penix can help flip the script on an offense that, through 24 possessions, has only scored 16 points and hasn’t run a play in the red zone.

All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom said the team needed to have several hard conversations following Sunday’s game, and a short week made Monday the right time for such discussions to take place. The Falcons left Monday optimistic about the path they’re heading toward.

“Obviously, it’s frustrating getting those two losses back-to-back, but it’s a new week,” tight end Kyle Pitts said. “It’s a short week, and the best thing is it’s a short week and you can flush it. And now we’re onto Green Bay and trying to get a win this week.”

Similar to Stefanski, Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s first NFL win came on a Thursday night in 2019. Under LaFleur, the Packers are 7-4 on “Thursday Night Football,” and they went 2-0 in such games last season.

The Falcons recognize the challenge, but they’re eager nonetheless. Week 2 didn’t go as planned. They’re hopeful Week 3, with Penix and a newfound national spotlight in the mix, serves as the launching pad for the rest of the season.