The Carolina Panthers‘ defense is going to be excited about the matchup it has in Week 2.
That’s because, for the second week in a row, the Atlanta Falcons‘ QB depth chart is in shambles.
The Falcons planned to have two left-handed quarterbacks compete for a starting gig this season in the form of Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr.
Neither have been available in either of the first two weeks.
Instead, the Falcons are making due with a guy they signed on July 29 and an undrafted rookie from the Division II ranks.
It resulted in a 20-13 loss in Week 1 for Atlanta, with a tough offensive day overall, and it’s not clear it’ll be better in Week 2.
Falcons QB Depth Chart
The starter for the second week in a row for the Falcons will be Cooper Rush.
Rush was the long-time Dallas Cowboys backup, and then he spent 2025 with the Baltimore Ravens, where he struggled as a fill-in for an injured Lamar Jackson.
The righty Rush signed with the Falcons on July 29 but would’ve expected at best to be the QB3.
Instead, Tagovailoa hurt his oblique in the lead-up to Week 1.
And Penix is still ramping up from last year’s knee surgery.
That means Rush is the only quarterback left on the roster with NFL experience, and so he gets the nod each of the first two weeks.
The opener wasn’t easy for Rush. He threw 22 times and completed 12 passes. Eight of those completions (and 10 targets) went to RB Bijan Robinson.
Rush threw to Drake London four times and completed two to the Falcons’ top receiver.
He also only threw once to tight end Kyle Pitts, and that fell incomplete.
Atlanta will need Rush to involve everyone more to have any chance on Sunday.
Falcons’ Backup QB
The backup quarterback for a second consecutive week is Jack Strand.
Strand was a Division II star at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, where he became one of the most prolific passers in D-II history.
The Falcons signed Strand as an undrafted free agent in the spring, and during the preseason, he was 23-for-36 passing and also ran for a couple touchdowns.
Strand looks the part physically as a big, strong dude, and he also is smart — he wanted to work for NASA after college.
If Strand got into a game this season, it’d be his NFL debut.
The Falcons probably want to avoid that, although clearly they like Strand or they wouldn’t have kept him around all this time. His future might be surprisingly bright, but for now, he’s the backup to Rush for a second week in a row.
Falcons QB Depth Chart Week 2: Roles for Cooper Rush, Jack Strand vs. Panthers