Falcons QB Cooper Rush Knows What Went Wrong. He Doesn’t Know What’s Next

Cooper Rush is accustomed to living in limbo.

As of Wednesday, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, and Week 1 starter, doesn’t know if head coach Kevin Stefanski will tap him to lead the offense once more for the NFC South opener this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

“As kind of a career backup, you prepare every week,” the ninth-year NFL veteran told reporters.

“It doesn’t change. If anything, it’s just the rep count, but your process is the same – how much you study, how much you go over things. You get used to it over the years. So that’s kind of part of the job.”

Had Rush produced against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Atlanta’s 20-13 season-opening loss last on Sept. 13, he might not be in this predicament. Rush started in Week 1 after Tua Tagovailoa suffered a midweek oblique injury, and Michael Penix Jr. is cleared to practice, but is still working his way back from a partially torn left ACL.

Rush himself played that game through back spasms, which he says feel “a lot better.”

Against Pittsburgh, he finished the game going 12-for-22 on pass attempts for 143 passing yards and threw a touchdown against two interceptions. One of Rush’s interceptions was a 35-yard pick-six to Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt.

Key quarterback stats after Week 1: pic.twitter.com/BDrfOUZKOA
— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) September 15, 2026

“Just wasn’t mentally sharp,” Rush recalled the game.

Rush finished with a 51.9 passer rating, a 2.6 QBR, and took four sacks. He averaged 2.1 air yards and went 2-for-5 on passes 10 yards or greater.

At Wednesday’s practice, Rush said he and Penix shared first-team reps. Tagavailoa didn’t practice, and rookie Jack Strand worked with the practice squad.

And can’t forget about the Falcons’ fascinating selection of an emergency third-string quarterback, Olamide Zaccheaus, who plays wide receiver.

Rush knows that if picked to start Sunday, he must improve.

“Be efficient with my feet and eyes, that’s one thing I took from the game,” Rush detailed. “Just having a better feel for some of the reads and things like that. Stuff you work on week-to-week – never changes. That stuff sometimes iron itself out.”

But whether he gets that opportunity to make those corrections is now out of his hands.

Saturday is Atlanta’s home opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Led by quarterback “The Carolina Reaper” Bryce Young, the Panthers swept the Falcons in 2025 and own a three-game winning streak in the divisional matchup.

The Falcons’ last win over Carolina came in Oct. 2024, a 38-20 victory in Charlotte.

“Division game, always fun. Those are big games; they’re important. The home opener’s fun,” Rush said. “So really excited about that.”

Falcons-Panthers kicks off at 1 p.m. on FOX. Both teams are coming off Week 1 losses, as is the entire NFC South: the Falcons (0-1) to the Steelers and the Panthers (0-1) 59-37 to the Chicago Bears.

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