Green Bay Packers fans got to celebrate their first "Victory Monday" of the 2026 regular season, but all eyes had to look immediately look forward this week as we're back at it with a Thursday night matchup taking on the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field at 7:15 PM CST. The Packers are 1-1 on the season coming off a bit of a frustrating 20-17 overtime victory over the New York Jets. The Falcons are 0-2, and licking their wounds after a 34-3 drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. The Packers are hoping some home cooking on a short week will benefit them this week, while Atlanta may be a bit desperate not to let 2026 get away from them early.
The last time these two teams met was on September 17th, 2023, in Atlanta when the Packers fell to the Falcons in a close game, losing 25-24. The Falcons rallied back into the game from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit behind QB Desmond Ridder, who threw for 237 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jordan Love threw 14/25 for 151 yards and three touchdowns, but the Packers' defense could not contain the Falcons' running game led by Bijan Robinson, who had 124 of their 211 combined rushing yards off 19 carries. This was unfortunately one of those games where the Packers' defense made a dismal QB look like an All-Pro. Hopefully, those days are behind us as the defensive coordinator from that era can't hurt us anymore.
Last week's game against New York was a tale of two teams more or less, and both of those teams were wearing the Green and Gold jerseys. It seemed as if the early injuries to Jayden Reed and Zach Bako-Bewele absolutely gutted the Packers' offense. It was just a stream of three-and-outs for the entire first quarter, until the offense finally put together a nine-play scoring drive on their first possession of the second quarter. The defense essentially kept the offense in the game by holding the Jets to 17 points before the offense finally had a wake-up call in the fourth quarter, putting up 10 unanswered points and then getting in field goal range to seal the deal in overtime. Whether it was playcalling or execution, the offense luckily seemed to get a kick in the pants late that they can hopefully use moving forward.
We're finally back home on a short week; let's get to it.
What to see on Offense
Well, the offensive line held up better for Jordan Love in New York, but that bar wasn't very hard to clear. And unfortunately, it came at the cost of a laundry list of offensive line injuries, including losing Zach Bako-Bewele for the remainder of the season. Matt LaFleur says he expects Anthony Belton to be the right tackle despite being on the injury list, and Aaron Banks is unfortunately OUT for the matchup leaving the left guard position in the hands of either Donovan Jennings, or Jager Burton. Jager Burton and Sean Rhyan seemed to inject a little life and some attitude into the offense on Sunday after coming to Jordan Love's aid after he took a shot trying to score a touchdown with his legs. So, there could be a little hope, but at this point we're just praying for the line to hold up so we don't get Jordan Love killed.
Leading the Falcons' pass rush is none other than former Packer, Za'Darius Smith. I can sense the collective eye rolls from everyone reading that line in the future already. Smith was brought in after an injury and suspension to Atlanta's top pass rushers, Jalon Walker, who tore his ACL, and James Pearce Jr., who was suspended eight games for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Smith got two sacks on his former teammate Aaron Rodgers in Week 1 and then 0.5 against Carolina on Sunday. Nobody pulling for the Packers wants to see Smith get to Jordan Love, so hopefully we're able to make that happen. After Smith, the Falcons' pass rush is pretty tame, so hopefully it could be a good game for whoever lines up for the Packers on the line.
Not only on the offensive line, but the receivers too; the Packers were dealt a blow on Sunday, losing Jayden Reed for an undetermined period with a neck injury. It seems the dream of having Watson, Golden, Reed, and Kraft on the field together once again has to wait. Of course, the Packers have Bo Melton, Skyy Moore, and J. Michael Sturdivant to fill his role, but which one will seize the opportunity? Whichever one does would be wise to start today, as the Falcons' secondary is limping along, with cornerback AJ Terrell recently placed on IR, and the remainder of the squad struggling. If the offensive line holds up, Jordan Love could have a good night.
This game may not be a good one for the Packers to find their feet in the running game. Kaleb Johnson showed some flashes on Sunday, but after he and Marshawn Lloyd both had fumbles, Lloyd's fumble led to a turnover, the running game only combined for 63 yards. Unless the Lambeau lights inject some sort of surge in the Packers' backfield, it may be more of the same against Atlanta. The Falcons' front has only allowed 63 rushing yards per game so far, with Gervon Dexter Sr. clogging the interior of the line. Their safeties, Jessie Bates III, Xavier Watts, and Sydney Brown, lead the team in cleaning up the traffic left in Dexter's wake. As much as we want some improvement from the running game for the Packers' offense, we may be waiting another week.
What to see on Defense
QB Michael Penix Jr. will be making his 2026 debut in Lambeau after tearing his ACL last year. Penix loves to take shots downfield and create explosive plays, and while the Packers defense should be able to handle him given that they're number 2 in the league so far this season against such plays, they need to stay disciplined so they don't fall victim to a comeback story.
The story of the season so far may be the pass rush in the absence of Micah Parsons. All we heard all offseason was "can the Packers get after the QB without #1?" Well, through two games, yes, yes they can. Lukas Van Ness leads the way with 2.5 sacks in what seems to be a breakout start for him in 2026, followed by Edgerrin Cooper with two of his own. The Falcons' offensive line has surrendered seven sacks through two games themselves, but the question comes up: is that due to poor QB play? Will it continue with Penix? We'll have to find out in this one.
If Penix can get rid of the ball, he has no shortage of weapons. Drake London and Jahan Dotson lead the receivers, with tight ends Kyle Pitts Sr. and Austin Hooper. Despite those targets, the top pass-catcher so far in 2026 for Atlanta is running back Bijan Robinson with 11 catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. Make no mistake, if Penix is going to air it out, the Packers' secondary is going to need to have a game similar to the one they had against New York and allow nothing big.
On to the running game. Last week, I said the Packers may have their hands full with Breece Hall and Braelon Allen as they posed a bigger threat than Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones of Minnesota. But the Packers defense absolutely stifled the Jets' duo, holding them to only 36 yards combined. Against Atlanta, however, they face one of the best running backs in the league in Bijan Robinson. Through two games, Robinson has only amassed 155 yards and zero touchdowns on 37 carries, but that was with mediocre QB play. With Penix at the helm, Robinson may feel some pressure taken off. Behind Bijan Robinson is Brian Robinson Jr., who also can be a threat on the ground as he's averaged 4.1 yards per carry on 20 carries so far this season. The Packers have been excellent at stifling the run through two games; now tonight they have perhaps their biggest test so far. Hopefully they are up to the task.
Extra Notes
It appears the Packers have found their kicker. Trey Smack went 2/2 on extra points and then 2/2 on field goals, including the chip-shot overtime walk-off field goal to seal the game. Some say it was an easy kick for his first game-winning attempt, but as Packers fans, we've had our fair share of chip-shots being shanked, so let's be glad that didn't happen, and instead we're celebrating his first walk-off win. On the Falcons' side, kicker Nick Folk is off to a rough start, only making 50% of his kick attempts, going 3/6, and is 1/1 on extra points. Before his Falcons' debut this season, Folk had only missed one kick in each of his previous three seasons, so to start this rocky is uncharacteristic of Folk, and we'll see if his struggles dictate the Falcons' coaching decisions in field goal range in this game or if they let him try to get back on track.
Punting for the Packers, Daniel Whelan certainly boosted his average last week with a 66-yard punt as he averaged 54 yards on six attempts. The Falcons' Jake Bailey has also been fairly consistent, averaging 48.9 yards on nine punts so far.
Skyy Moore leads the league in punt return yards with 109, punt return average with 18.9 yards, and has the longest punt return with a 63-yard return. His signing back in April was met with tilted expressions from those who didn't understand his return value to the team, as he's a threat to break one every time he touches the ball. If you followed my previews last year, you might remember me constantly saying "we're just hoping not to fumble it." Well, I'm glad this short paragraph actually has some excitement this season.
The Falcons' return game has some guys who can make explosive plays in Olamide Zaccheaus, Zachariah Branch, and Brian Robinson Jr. But this has mainly come on kickoffs, with their punt returns being a bit ho-hum. The Packers did a good job limiting Isaiah Williams last week, and they'll be hoping to repeat that against the Falcons.
In the End
Last week wasn't pretty, not by any means. The standard most of us Packers fans hold the team to wasn't met on Sunday, and we lost a few players to injury in the process. But, all in all, a win is a win. You should never take a tick in the win column for granted in the NFL, no matter how ugly it is.
The Packers are facing a desperate Falcons team trying to get their first win. But then again, who's more desperate to show the last two weeks were a fluke and get things on track? The Packers or Falcons? Hopefully, on a short week, the Packers can use their home-field advantage and come out with a win so we can make our way into the weekend with our heads held high. Go Pack Go.
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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.