Kevin Stefanski on Disappointing Falcons Debut: 'Plenty of Work to Do'

ATLANTA, GA - It was never a good matchup for the Atlanta Falcons against the Denver Broncos on Friday night. The Broncos are a Super Bowl contender with a deep, talented team and a coach in Sean Payton who believes in playing his first and second team for extended minutes.

The Falcons were introducing a lot of new faces, a new system, and were missing several expected starters on both sides of the ball. The differences were highlighted on a pair of first-half turnovers from newly signed quarterback Cooper Rush.

Rush was in Dallas with his feet up when he got the day before training camp started that the Falcons needed a fourth quarterback at camp. Rush was pressured by backup edge rusher Jonah Elliss, who deflected the pass intended for practice squad regular Dylan Drummond, and it was intercepted by Riley Moss.

Elliss was working against seventh-round pick Ethan Onianwa, and Moss is scheduled to be a $20+ million cornerback next year as his rookie contract expires. Rush's second interception, returned for a touchdown by Jahdae Barron, helped close a lopsided 24-0 first half. Barron was the Broncos' first-round draft pick in 2025, helping to highlight the difference in depth on both teams.

Still, the Falcons would have hoped to have done better with Tua Tagovailoa making his debut. He dropped the second snap and didn't throw the ball beyond the first-down markers in his two drives. Even without Drake London and Bijan Robinson, Tagovailoa admitted he played poorly.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski preferred to take a glass-half-full approach, admitting there was plenty to work on after Friday night's 27-7 showing.

“Plenty to clean up. I thought it was great being in our building. For a lot of us being in here for the first time, seeing what it's like in the building. I thought it was a great atmosphere for our players. I thought it just was exciting to be in front of our fans," Stefanski said after the game.

Payton also appreciated being in Atlanta again and noticed "a lot of fans dressed as empty seats."

Stefanski pointed to the two turnovers as big factors in the game.

That's the first thing that gets my attention because that's something that we really want to be great at, is that turnover margin. So, ways to take it away on defense and ways to hold on to it on offense. Then the penalties just have to be cleaned up. I thought throughout camp, it's an emphasis for us, and by and large guys have really honed in," Stefanski said.

"What you have to do, the big message for this entire football team is you have to take the practice field to the game field. I didn't think we did that in a bunch of areas, including penalties tonight, so we're in training camp mode. That's obvious, and we'll stay there because we've got plenty of work to do, like I told you guys. So, there's things that I'm proud of, the effort, and a lot of things that guys playing into the third and fourth quarter that were doing a nice job.

"And then we'll watch this and make corrections. Then we can go to Indianapolis and be one game better as we get on the road for two practices versus a good Colts team.”

The Falcons travel to Indianapolis this week to participate in joint practices, where the first unit will see a lot of work. Potential starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will likely see action in 7v7s against the Colts, but he's still not cleared to face a pass rush.

Tagovailoa just started throwing a full array of drills last week, and the Falcons offense looked like they're not just in a new system, but have been limited in what they've been able to do because of the quarterbacks.

The next preseason game is Saturday at 1 p.m. EST against the Colts, and it will feature a lot of players from the second and third teams, but frankly, it will be hard to tell the difference from Friday.

Stefanski has four weeks to get ready for the Steelers on Week 1, and there's plenty of work to do.

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