Kevin Stefanski/Michael Penix Jr. Get Surprising Ranking from Sports Illustrated

The Atlanta Falcons have a new head coach this year, and they could possibly have a new starting quarterback as well. Last year's opening day starter, Michael Penix Jr., is battling with free agent Tua Tagovailoa and his recovery timeline to be the team's starter against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 in September.

The biggest question surrounding the possible success of the Falcons this year has been not only who will be the starter, but how effective he can be. Both Tagovailoa and Penix struggled last season with identical 88.5 passer ratings, tied for 25th in the NFL among quarterbacks with more than five starts.

New head coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff are being tasked with getting more from the quarterback position than former offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, now with the Buccaneers, could muster last season.

The Verdict

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame went through the process this week of ranking every head coach and quarterback combination across the NFL. Where he had Stefanski and Penix Jr. was pleasantly surprising for Falcons fans.

Typically, when talking quarterback rankings this time of year, I prepare to spin my mouse wheel like I'm on the Showcase Showdown of The Price is Right to get to the bottom of the page. But Verderame went in reverse order from worst to first, so I thought this might not take long. So I scrolled... and scrolled.

Verderame had the Falcons ranked at No. 24, ahead of the Carolina Panthers (27) and the New Orleans Saints (26). His methodology was simple: rank every coach and quarterback, add the numbers together, and the lowest score wins.

The Falcons got a boost from Stefanski being ranked 17th among his peers, helping to nullify the question at quarterback.

"Who starts for the Falcons? With Penix coming off a torn ACL, it could be Tua Tagovailoa, who signed a one-year deal this offseason after his release by the Dolphins," Verderame wrote on SI. "Regardless of who starts, there’s plenty to prove under center. Penix struggled in his second NFL season, throwing nine touchdowns and completing 60.1% of his attempts over nine games.

"Stefanski is a two-time Coach of the Year with the Browns (that’s a feat worth Canton), and has weapons to work with, including All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson, second-team All-Pro tight end Kyle Pitts, and star wideout Drake London. He should also be able to entrust coordinator Jeff Ulbrich with the defense, who, in his first season with Atlanta, saw the unit rank 15th overall and second in sacks."

It might not be Tua or Penix. It might be Tua AND Penix.

Injury concerns follow both Penix and Tagovailoa around, but the Falcons are betting that between the two of them, they can get a healthy 17 games of good quarterback play.

With a veteran offensive line, several established weapons, and a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, Verderame is betting the quarterback play will be elevated from what we saw with the Atlanta Falcons last year.

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