Packers-Falcons Matchups: Where Does Green Bay Have Advantage?

Former Oakland Raiders owner, the late Al Davis, is credited with coining the phrase, “Just win baby!”

The Green Bay Packers did just that on Sunday with a 20-17 survive-and-advance type of win over the New York Jets.

When a team has lost six games in a row, as the Packers had going into Sunday’s game, they cannot be bothered to care about style points.

There is no time to rest on their laurels, either, as they’ll open their home slate against the Atlanta Falcons just four days after knocking off the Jets. It will be the first time the Packers have played at home since the preseason finale on Aug. 28.

The Falcons, like the Packers, have issues. They are coming off a 34-3 drubbing at the hands of the Carolina Panthers and are making a change at quarterback.

So, the edge belongs to Green Bay, right?

Let’s take a closer look at this week’s matchups.

Falcons Pass Offense vs. Packers Pass Defense

Green Bay’s defense has been excellent through two weeks, including suffocating the Jets’ offense in the second half and overtime.

The one series the Jets had in overtime never stood a chance. Jonathan Gannon dialed up a pressure from Brandon Cisse on first down, which resulted in a sack shared between Barryn Sorrell and Cisse. The second-down play was wrecked by Lukas Van Ness, who shared a sack with Dani Dennis-Sutton to cap arguably his best game as a pro.

From there, the drive, for all intents and purposes, was over. The Packers allowed 247 passing yards to Geno Smith but sacked him four times. Van Ness, Edgerrin Cooper and Evan Williams, in particular, are off to excellent starts.

Cornerback play, which has been a point of contention, has been mostly solid through two games.

Considering the Packers have gotten little production from either of their two big starting defensive tackles, Javon Hargrave and Devonte Wyatt, they have to feel good about where their defense stands.

The Falcons have plenty of weapons. Running back Bijan Robinson is a threat as a runner and receiver, towering receiver Drake London has been a productive player, and athletic tight end Kyle Pitts finally broke out last season.

The issue has been at quarterback, but maybe not anymore.

Michael Penix will make his debut following last year’s torn ACL. He’s suffered a ton of injuries between his college and pro career. He started three games as a rookie in 2024 and nine games last season. His career totals include a 59.6 percent completion percentage, 12 touchdowns vs. six interceptions, and an 85.8 passer rating. He had the lowest interception percentage in the NFL last season.

Former Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa was supposed to start the season but was dealing with a back injury that emerged during a team meeting. So, Cooper Rush started the first two games but was benched on Sunday in favor of undrafted rookie Jack Strand after throwing two interceptions. Strand did not fare much better, throwing one interception.

Through two weeks, a 20-13 loss to Pittsburgh and a 34-3 loss to Carolina, Atlanta’s offense has been truly dreadful. With its worst-in-the-NFL passing game, it has yet to run a play in the red zone.

Falcons are 1st team since 2008 Rams to have no red zone plays in 1st 2 games of a season
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) September 20, 2026

Advantage: Packers

Falcons Rush Offense vs. Packers Run Defense

As good as the passing defense has been without Micah Parsons, Green Bay’s defense on the ground is truly something to behold through two games.

Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason did not find much room in the season opener. The degree of difficulty went up on Sunday against the Jets’ Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, who are a better running back tandem than the one in Minnesota. Plus, the Jets are a team committed to running the football.

With the amount of rain that fell throughout Sunday’s game, it felt like Mother Nature was playing directly into the Jets’ hands.

Instead, the stingy Green Bay defense stopped the Jets’ run game cold. Hall and Allen combined for 36 yards on 21 carries.

The two biggest stands of the game came on short-yardage plays late in the fourth quarter. The Jets needed to gain 1 yard to keep their hopes of kicking a potential game-winning field goal alive. Instead, led by Lukas Van Ness, the Packers shut them down, forcing a turnover on downs to give them a chance for one final drive of their own in regulation.

Individually, the Packers are facing arguably the best running back on their schedule this week. First-team All-Pro Bijan Robinson is the focal point of Atlanta’s offense but has had trouble finding any space to get going with as much attention that has been paid to him amid the quarterback problems.

Robinson has carried the ball 37 times for 155 yards. His 4.2-yard average is down about 1 yard from last year’s 5.1 average.

Anytime he touches the ball, though, he’s a threat to take it the distance. Robinson has faced the Packers once, when ran for 124 yards on 19 carries and added 48 receiving yards during the second game of his career in 2023.

This is a different defense, obviously, but that game – as well as Robinson’s seven receptions for 92 yards and 168 total yards against Jonathan Gannon’s Cardinals last season – serves as proof to just how dangerous Robinson can be.

Along with tag-team partner Brian Robinson, the Falcons are seventh with 138.5 rushing yards per game and 10th with 4.40 rushing yards per attempt. The change at quarterback perhaps will give Bijan Robinson the space to get in the open field, where he is electric.

With Atlanta’s situation at quarterback, slowing down its ground game is priority No. 1. As stingy as the Packers have been through two weeks, it’s hard not to give them the edge in this matchup.

Advantage: Packers

Falcons Pass Defense vs. Packers Passing Offense

Atlanta Falcons defensive end Za'Darius Smith reacts after a sack during the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Green Bay’s passing offense moved the ball up and down the field nearly at will when Jordan Love was protected enough against Minnesota.

Their encore left a lot to be desired. Love threw for less than 150 yards and really struggled with ball placement against a Jets defense that is not as good as the one he faced from Minnesota.

Protection was better, at least, albeit the bar to clear was very low. The Falcons’ pass rush was dealt a pair of devastating blows before the season began. Their 2025 first-round pick, Jalon Walker, who had 5.5 sacks as a rookie, tore his ACL in training camp. Their other first-round pick from 2025, James Pearce Jr., who had 10.5 sacks as a rookie, was suspended for eight games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

The Falcons’ leading pass rusher is former Packers star Za’Darius Smith, who retired midway through the 2025 season. Smith had two sacks against Aaron Rodgers in his debut for the team in Week 1, but was pretty quiet against Carolina. He has 2.5 sacks and four tackles for losses; the rest of the defense has 1.5 sacks and three TFLs.

In the secondary, cornerback A.J. Terrell was an All-Pro in 2021. He missed part of Sunday’s game with a groin injury and would not have practiced on Monday.

Atlanta ranks 24th in passing yards allowed per game. If the Packers cannot block this front – and there are enough question marks with Zach Bako-Bewele likely to miss the rest of the season following Sunday’s knee injury – they are going to be in a lot of trouble as the season goes along.

If they can protect Love, there are plenty of holes in the secondary to exploit.

Advantage: Packers

Falcons Rush Defense vs. Green Bay’s Rush Offense

A stoppable force meets an immovable object.

The Green Bay run game has been pretty rough through two weeks without Josh Jacobs in the backfield. MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson put the ball on the carpet last week, with Lloyd’s fumble leading to a field goal for the Jets to put the Packers in a 17-7 hole and landing him a seat on the bench.

The Falcons may not be good at much to start the season, but they’re the top-ranked rushing defense, allowing just 63 rushing yards per game. They limited the Panthers to 68 yards on 3.1 yards per carry on Sunday.

With Green Bay’s makeshift offensive line, and the Falcons’ ability to slow opposing teams on the ground, this might be a week where Matt LaFleur really leans into his passing attack.

Advantage: Falcons

Special Teams

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Skyy Moore sprints down the sideline with a long punt return against the Jets. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Packers lead the league in average yards per punt return.

Yes, the Packers, who have been anemic in the punt-return game throughout most of the Matt LaFleur era, may end up building a statue for Skyy Moore by the time this month ends.

Hyperbole aside, what a find Moore has been for the Packers through the first two weeks. Against the Jets, he had a 43-yard kickoff return and a 66-yard punt return, the latter of which set up a game-tying field goal. The punt return was the team’s longest since 2017.

The Packers’ return game is a weapon, which is something they have not been able to say since Keisean Nixon was their kickoff returner. The punt-return game has not been a consistent factor since Micah Hyde was their primary returner in the mid-2010s.

Trey Smack has been perfect on field goals, albeit he did miss one extra-point attempt in the first game. Punter Daniel Whelan was excellent on Sunday with three inside-the-20 punts and a 50.3-yard net average.

It feels odd to say, but Green Bay’s special teams has been a legitimate asset through two games.

Atlanta’s special teams were terrible last season, finishing one point out of last place in the Packers On SI special teams rankings, and got off to a rocky start this year.

In the opener vs. Pittsburgh, Nick Folk, who was signed to give stability to the kicking game, missed three kicks. He was 2-of-4 on field goals and missed his only extra-point attempt in a game the Falcons lost by seven. Last week, the Falcons allowed a 36-yard punt return.

Rookie Zachariah Branch, who was an explosive playmaker in college, is averaging 10 yards per punt return. He’s part of the kickoff-return platoon, as well; Olamide Zaccheaus was limited to 19.8 yards on four chances against Carolina.

Advantage: Packers

Filled with video clips and analytical stats (and helped by a considerable number of cups of coffee and maybe some DayQuil), here's a unit-by-unit Packers report card from yesterday's win. ⬇️https://t.co/gZgLkMC1SR
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 21, 2026

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER

Add us as a preferred source on Google