The Falcons are plugging in Cooper Rush as their starting quarterback. Seriously. Tua Tagovailoa has an oblique injury, and Michael Penix isn’t ready.
And on a day where hopes tend to be high, Atlanta is left looking more like an afterthought team in December, playing out the string. The Steelers, meanwhile, get essentially a fourth preseason game – a chance to warm up against less-than-NFL opposition.
Those who selected Bijan Robinson before Jahmyr Gibbs are probably a little nervous, as it starts to become apparent just how bad the Falcons might be.
With good talent around him, Rush managed to go 9-5 as a starter in Dallas, but he was 0-2 for the Ravens last year before they replaced him with Tyler Huntley. Rush is a lesser backup at best. I think it’s fair to say the vast majority of teams would have no interest in Rush as their No. 2 quarterback.
Looking at the 320 starting quarterbacks of the last 10 years, I see only a few that look as perhaps as uninspiring as Rush. Nathan Peterman of the 2018 Bills, maybe. Maybe Scott Tolzien of the 2017 Colts or Tom Savage of the 2017 Texans.
Rough start for the Falcons.
Below is my stab at the least anticipated starting quarterbacks of the last 10 years. Seven of these guys, at least, ended up winning.
| UNHERALDED WEEK 1 STARTERS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Result | Com | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int |
| 2016 | • Shaun Hill, Min. | at Ten. | W, 25-16 | 18 | 33 | 54.5 | 236 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | • Blaine Gabbert, S.F. | LAR | W, 28-0 | 22 | 35 | 62.9 | 170 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Josh McCown, NYJ | at Buff. | L, 12-21 | 26 | 39 | 66.7 | 187 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 | Scott Tolzien, Ind. | at LAR | L, 9-46 | 9 | 18 | 50 | 128 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 | DeShone Kizer, Cle. | Pitt. | L, 18-21 | 20 | 30 | 66.7 | 222 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017 | Mike Glennon, Chi. | Atl. | L, 17-23 | 26 | 40 | 65 | 213 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Brian Hoyer, S.F. | Car. | L, 3-23 | 24 | 35 | 68.6 | 193 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | Tom Savage, Hou. | Jac. | L, 7-29 | 7 | 13 | 53.8 | 62 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Nathan Peterman, Buff. | at Balt. | L, 3-47 | 5 | 18 | 27.8 | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 | Case Keenum, Was. | at Phi. | L, 27-32 | 30 | 44 | 68.2 | 380 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | Andy Dalton, Chi. | at LAR | L, 14-34 | 27 | 38 | 71.1 | 206 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | • Jameis Winston, N.O. | at Atl. | W, 27-26 | 23 | 34 | 67.6 | 269 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | • Mitchell Trubisky, Pitt. | at Cin. | W, 23-20 | 21 | 38 | 55.3 | 194 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | Joe Flacco, NYJ | Balt. | L, 9-24 | 37 | 59 | 62.7 | 309 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | Davis Mills, Hou. | Ind. | T, 20-20 | 23 | 37 | 62.2 | 240 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | Marcus Mariota, Atl. | N.O. | L, 26-27 | 20 | 33 | 60.6 | 215 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | • Jimmy Garoppolo, L.V. | at Den. | W, 17-16 | 20 | 26 | 76.9 | 200 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | Joshua Dobbs, Ari. | at Was. | L, 16-20 | 21 | 30 | 70 | 132 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | • Desmond Ridder, Atl. | Car. | W, 24-10 | 15 | 18 | 83.3 | 115 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | Gardner Minshew, L.V. | at LAC | L, 10-22 | 25 | 33 | 75.8 | 257 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | • Jacoby Brissett, N.E. | at Cin. | W, 16-10 | 15 | 24 | 62.5 | 121 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Russell Wilson, NYG | at Was. | L, 6-21 | 17 | 37 | 45.9 | 168 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Joe Flacco, Cle. | Cin. | L, 16-17 | 31 | 45 | 68.9 | 290 | 1 | 2 |
| 2025 | Spencer Rattler, N.O. | Ari. | L, 13-20 | 27 | 46 | 58.7 | 214 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 | Cooper Rush, Atl. | at Pitt. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan
