The Packers had won 13 straight home openers. They were unable to get to 14.
The Falcons dominated at Lambeau Field on Thursday night, beating the Packers 35-14.
After the game, Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur called it what it was.
“It was a butt-whooping,” LaFleur said. “That was at least three-quarter butt-whooping right there.”
His comments came in the context of the potential impact of a roughing the passer call that extended Atlanta’s initial scoring drive on the flow of the game. Asked about that specific call, LaFleur said, “I’m not gonna answer that. I’m not gonna get fined.”
For now, no one is getting fired. Asked if the play of the offensive line will prompt changes to the coaching staff, LaFleur said, “I’m not even going to respond to that question.”
He also declined to hang the sluggish performance of the offense on the blockers. “I don’t want to put all the blame on the offensive line,” LaFleur said. “There’s enough blame to go around to everybody.”
Still, the numbers say it all. The Packers couldn’t run. They had nine rushing attempts for 17 yards, against 53 passes. And they clearly miss starting tailback Josh Jacobs.
“I mean, I think we all saw a dynamic running back on the other side, and I think Josh is a dynamic running back,” LaFleur said. “But it is the situation, it’s the circumstance. And it is what it is right now. And we’ve got to find a way just to either — well, one, we’ve got to put them in a better position, and then those guys gotta go do it.”
They have extra time to figure out how to do it before a Week 4 game at Tampa Bay, for a renewal of the old NFC Central “Bay of Pigs” rivalry. With Green Bay at 1-2 and the Buccaneers at 0-2, it could be time for Chris Berman to dust off that name, for the first time in a long time.
Falcons Clips
Drake London and Bijan Robinson combined for 407 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Falcons to a 35-14 rout of the Packers on Thursday night.
It was the Packers’ first home-opening loss since 2012.
Both teams are 1-2.
After their first two games, played without starting quarterback Michael Penix, the Falcons ranked 29th in total offense (262 yards per game) and last in scoring (16 total points). They did not have a single red zone snap.
Penix’s return changed everything.
He had a slow start, throwing an interception on the team’s first possession, but he went 13-of-15 with a touchdown in the second and third quarters. Penix finished 18-of-25 for 256 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
London, who had six catches for 80 yards in the first two games, caught nine passes for 194 yards. Robinson, who had 37 carries for 80 yards in the first two games, had 29 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 19 yards.
They are the first teammates with at least 190 yards from scrimmage in a road game since Lawrence McCutcheon and Ron Jessie did it for the Rams against the Dolphins in 1976.
The Falcons outgained the Packers 498 yards to 328, with two kneel downs in victory formation dropping them under 500 yards. They were 6-of-10 on third down.
Green Bay led 7-0 on Christian Watson’s fourth touchdown catch of the season, but it was short-lived. The Falcons went on a 27-0 run before Matthew Golden scored his first touchdown.
The Packers managed only 17 yards rushing.
Jordan Love was 28-of-53 for 312 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Golden caught five passes for 100 yards, and Watson had seven receptions for 96 yards.
The Falcons are dominating the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Brian Robinson scored on a 7-yard run with 3:38 left in the third quarter, giving the Falcons a 24-7 lead. Atlanta went 92 yards in 10 plays after a fourth-and-1 stop of the Packers.
Jordan Love threw incomplete in the end zone as Green Bay turned it over on downs at the Atlanta 7.
The Falcons have outgained the Packers 340 yards to 171.
In his 2026 debut, Michael Penix is 15-of-22 for 132 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Bijan Robinson has 20 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown and two receptions for 19 yards.
Michael Penix is back . . . and so are the Falcons.
The quarterback, who hadn’t played since Nov. 16, got off to a slow start. His third pass was an interception and he was only 5-of-11 to start. Penix, though, found his groove, finishing the first half 13-of-20 for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
His 5-yard touchdown throw to tight end Austin Hooper on third-and-goal with 59 seconds left in the half has the Falcons in the locker room with a 17-7 lead at halftime.
The Falcons, who did not have a red zone snap in the first two games, are 2-for-2 in the red zone tonight. They scored on three of their last four possessions in the first half.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has 15 carries for 111 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run. He also has one catch for 17 yards.
Drake London has five catches for 54 yards.
The Falcons have outgained the Packers 253 to 108. Green Bay went three-and-out on four of six possessions in the first half, going 1-for-6 on third down with four punts.
Green Bay kicker Trey Smack had his 47-yard field goal try blocked by Falcons defensive lineman Zach Harrison.
Jordan Love is 9-of-19 for 96 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson. It is Watson’s fourth touchdown of the season. Matthew Golden has two catches for 53 yards.
The Green Bay run game is nonexistent with five carries for 12 yards from MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson.
The Packers have won 13 consecutive home openers at Lambeau Field.
The Falcons became only the fourth team since 1978 without a red zone drive through two games. The last time it happened was in 2008 by the Rams.
It took the Falcons three drives to get inside the Packers’ 20-yard line on Thursday night.
Bijan Robinson’s 55-yard run got the Falcons to the Green Bay 5, and two plays later, the running back had his team in the end zone. Robinson scored on a 3-yard run.
He has seven carries for 73 yards.
Michael Penix has struggled in his 2026 debut, completing only 2 of 7 passes for 22 yards with an interception.
But the Falcons are tied with the Packers 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
It is Week 3, and Christian Watson already has four touchdown receptions. His career-high for touchdowns is the seven he had as a rookie in 2022.
Watson’s latest touchdown came on a 4-yard throw by Jordan Love with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter on Thursday night.
The Packers drove 87 yards in nine plays on their second series to take a 7-0 lead.
Love was 5-of-6 for 76 yards and the touchdown. Matthew Golden had the big play, catching a 45-yard pass to the Atlanta 43 on third-and-11.
On their first possession, the Packers failed to take advantage of safety Xavier McKinney’s interception of Michael Penix. The Packers went three-and-out as Love was only 1-of-3 for 6 yards.
Michael Penix isn’t the only Falcon making his season debut tonight.
Falcons cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. is active for Thursday Night Football. The team listed him as questionable with the Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season in a Week 12 practice.
The Falcons need Bowman this week with starting corner A.J. Terrell Jr. landing on injured reserve with a groin injury.
The team’s other inactives are quarterback Cooper Rush, quarterback Jack Strand, defensive back Malcolm DeWalt IV, defensive back Robert Longerbeam, defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring) and offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa.
The Packers’ inactives are wide receiver Jayden Reed (neck), offensive tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (knee), offensive guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe), defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf) and defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (ankle).
Nose tackle Javon Hargrave (knee/concussion) is active after three limited practices and a questionable designation.
It looks like Tua Tagovailoa will be Atlanta’s backup quarterback when the team plays Green Bay on Thursday night.
Tagovailoa has no game status on the Falcons’ final injury report of the week, meaning he is available to play.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski noted earlier on Wednesday that Tagovailoa was trending toward being the backup behind Michael Penix Jr. this week.
Tagovailoa was supposed to start the season opener, but suffered an oblique injury during the practice week. Cooper Rush started the first two games as Michael Penix Jr. was still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
But now Penix is QB1 with Tagovailoa presumably QB2 for Week 3.
Elsewhere on the injury report, cornerback Billy Bowman (Achilles) is questionable while defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring) is out.
Running back Bijan Robinson (ankle), defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus (thumb), tight end Nick Muse (shoulder), and right tackle Jawaan Taylor (rib) are off the injury report and are set to play.
The Packers released their final injury report for Thursday night’s game against the Falcons and it confirms that they’ll be without two starting offensive linemen for the game.
Left guard Aaron Banks (knee, toe) has been ruled out after leaving last Sunday’s win over the Jets in the second quarter. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele tore his patellar tendon in that game and is out for the season.
Guard Donovan Jennings (hand) and tackle Anthony Belton (elbow) replaced them last week and both are set to play as they did not receive injury designations.
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (knee, concussion) is questionable after missing Week 2. Defensive tackle Anthony Campbell (ankle) is also listed as questionable.
Wide receiver Jayden Reed was officially ruled out with the neck injury that caused him to spend time in a New Jersey hospital before returning to Green Bay during the week. Defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf) will miss the game as well.
The Falcons added a cornerback to their 53-man roster ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Packers in Green Bay.
They announced that they have signed cornerback Robert Longerbeam off of the Eagles’ practice squad.
Longerbeam was a 2025 sixth-round pick of the Ravens and he spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. He failed to make the cut to 53 players in Baltimore this summer and signed to the Eagles’ practice squad in early September.
The move comes a day after the Falcons placed cornerback A.J. Terrell on injured reserve. Terrell suffered a groin injury in Atlanta’s Week 2 loss to the Panthers.
