Jack Strand Shines at QB for Atlanta Falcons Despite Limited Practice

The Atlanta Falcons' biggest questions this season revolve around the quarterback position. Who will be the starter? Can Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. stay healthy for an entire season? Can either of them be the long-term answer for the Falcons after struggling in 2025?

While those questions remain unanswered, the Falcons find themselves near the bottom of any kind of power rankings, even future power rankings that try to look four seasons down the road.

While the focus has been on Tagovailoa and Penix, the Falcons got an unlikely boost from undrafted free agent Jack Strand in Saturday's convincing 34-6 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The Falcons spent last week in Indianapolis and had a pair of joint practices with the Colts that included the bulk of the first-team reps. With Tagovailoa and Penix splitting the opportunities, there was little work for Strand as he watched.

When he got his chance on Saturday against the Colts' second and third team, he shined. At 6'5 and 240 pounds with a strong arm and quick release, Strand has stood out since being signed by the Falcons out of Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM).

On Saturday, he kicked it up a notch.

Strand was 12 of 17 for 212 yards and a touchdown. He added another 16-yard rushing touchdown. At one point, Strand was 8/8 for 155 yards, a touchdown, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

.@AtlantaFalcons QB Jack Strand throws for 212 yards and scores 2 touchdowns in Preseason Week 2 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FVGq6WtkyV
— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2026

Head coach Kevin Stefanski was impressed with not just Strand's performance, but his maturity in being able to learn and then thrive, despite being a spectator most of the week in practice.

"I think any quarterback gets great mental work when they're not out there," Stefanski said after the game on Saturday. "Jack didn't have a ton of reps in those joint practices, but he's getting every rep, both when he's watching it the first time and then when he's paying attention to the meeting room.

"He's getting that mental rep. So, he's somebody that can get better that way, which I think is a great attribute for young players, period. Certainly, at the quarterback position, I think you can apply a lot of those lessons learned. I saw that tonight from Jack.”

Having success against the Colts' reserves is a far cry from facing the Broncos' first-team defense in the Falcons' first preseason game, but Strand and the rest of the offense could only play who was put in front of them.

Atlanta outgained the Colts 461 yards to 164. They were 9 of 17 on third down compared to 1 of 11 for Indianapolis.

While Strand was the star of the show, the Falcons also got good play in the first half from Cooper Rush who was an efficient 10 of 11 passing for 86 yards.

“I thought the quarterback position, in total, both those guys made good decisions," Stefanski said. "I thought there were some unique looks that we got in the game that we really haven't seen a ton of, if you will, in the last week or so, and I thought they both saw it clearly. The ball went where the ball was supposed to go the majority of the time.”

The ball went into the end zone four times, and kicker Nick Folk added a pair of 50+ yard field goals for good measure.

Coaches often talk about complementary football, and the Falcons showed what that looked like on Saturday. Offense, defense, and special teams came together for a dominating win. Sure, it's just preseason, but there haven't been enough of those games in Atlanta in any season lately.

The Falcons only kept two quarterbacks last year on their initial 53-man roster, but at this point, it will be a shock if Strand isn't on the team after roster cutdowns next Sunday.

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