The Atlanta Falcons are only two games into Kevin Stefanski’s first season, but the team has got off to a brutal 0-2 start.
Atlanta has scored just 16 points, hasn’t reached the red zone and is coming off a 34-3 home loss to the Carolina Panthers.
The immediate concern is obvious.
The longer-term one may be worse.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Conor Orr pointed to the ages and contracts of several cornerstone Falcons while questioning what another wasted season could mean.
“My concern here specifically is the timing of a lost season for the Falcons,” Orr wrote.
His bigger point was that Atlanta can’t afford to simply write off 2026 without risking damage that carries beyond it.
Falcons’ Veteran Core Raises Stakes for Kevin Stefanski
Orr specifically highlighted left tackle Jake Matthews and guard Chris Lindstrom.
Matthews is 34 and carrying a $16.77 million cap charge this season. Lindstrom is 29 and remains one of Atlanta’s biggest investments after signing a five-year, $102.5 million extension.
Then there are the offensive playmakers.
Drake London signed a four-year, $141 million extension in June that included $100 million guaranteed. Bijan Robinson followed in August with a three-year extension carrying a $66.75 million base value and $51 million guaranteed.
The Falcons have committed heavily to their offensive core.
They just haven’t found a quarterback capable of taking advantage of it.
Orr argued that Robinson could end up carrying a “disproportionate amount of pressure” because of Atlanta’s problems at quarterback, while London continues playing in an offense struggling simply to function.
That frustration has already begun showing publicly.
Orr didn’t name him specifically, but referenced London’s jawing with fans and a team that, in his view, has looked increasingly disengaged through two weeks.
He warned Atlanta has to get through a difficult season “without letting a toxicity seep in.”
Then came his blunt conclusion.
“That is a Kevin Stefanski problem,” Orr wrote.
Michael Penix Jr. Gets First Chance to Change Falcons Direction
Stefanski now turns to the quarterback Atlanta hopes can change the conversation.
The Falcons named Michael Penix Jr. their starter for Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers, marking his first appearance since tearing his ACL last November.
Atlanta opened the season with Cooper Rush while Penix completed his recovery and Tua Tagovailoa dealt with an oblique injury.
Rush couldn’t stabilize the offense.
He threw for 229 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions across the first two games before Stefanski replaced him with rookie Jack Strand during the Panthers blowout.
Penix now returns with considerably more riding on the season than simply proving his knee is healthy. His career is essentially on the line.
“Atlanta’s entire optimism hinges on a coaching staff at least stringing together snippets of inspiring play from Penix when he is active in order to motivate the veteran playmakers to return in 2027, when the quarterback of choice is on the roster,” Orr wrote. “The same Penix who is apparently, in their eyes, not tough enough to get on the field.”
Atlanta needs to determine whether the former No. 8 overall pick can be its long-term quarterback, while also giving players such as Robinson, London, Matthews and Lindstrom reason to believe this roster is headed somewhere.
Penix will make his first 2026 start at Lambeau Field.
Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski Put On Notice for Cost of ‘Lost Season’