GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers will look to build on a second-half comeback that snapped a six-game skid when they face the Atlanta Falcons — who will have Michael Penix Jr. back under center — in their home opener on Thursday night.
Green Bay (1-1) overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the New York Jets 20-17 in overtime on Sunday. That halted the losing streak comprised of last year’s final four regular-season games, a wild-card round playoff loss and this year’s opener.
Atlanta (0-2), with Penix and Tua Tagovailoa sidelined by injury, was routed at home 34-3 by Carolina in Week 2. Fill-in starter Cooper Rush completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble before being benched in the third quarter in favor of undrafted rookie Jack Strand — who threw a pick-6 on his first NFL attempt.
Penix underwent surgery in early November after suffering a torn ACL, which cost him the final seven games last season. The Falcons have named him the starter against Green Bay while Tagovailoa (oblique) appears ready to be the backup as he was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice.
The Falcons will see what Penix can provide after they managed one touchdown over the first two games. Rush completed 22 of 39 passes for 229 yards with one touchdown, four interceptions and a quarterback rating of 42.5.
“We’re two games into this and not pleased with the offensive production in those two games, but excited about what we can do moving forward,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday.
The Packers weren’t pleased, either, after allowing the final 29 points of the game in their Week 1 loss at Minnesota. Green Bay turned the tables and overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 11 minutes against the Jets.
“Talk about resiliency, being down 10 points in the fourth quarter,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said afterward. “Our guys kept battling. I know it wasn’t always pretty, but I thought defensively we did a great job.”
Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes as he helped engineer the Packers’ comeback for their first victory since Dec. 7.
But the Packers also suffered significant injuries against the Jets on their second and third plays from scrimmage. Wide receiver Jayden Reed injured his neck and stayed overnight in a New York-area hospital. Then right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele suffered a full tear of the patellar tendon in his right knee.
While LaFleur said it’s too early to tell when Reed will be able to return, Bako-Bewele was ruled out for the season. Anthony Belton will take over at right tackle for the Packers’ injury-ravaged offensive line.
“I don’t change my expectations at all,” Love said of the Packers’ next-man-up reality. “I expect those guys to go out there and put their best foot forward and give me time to be able to go out there and try dicing a defense up. That’s the expectations, whoever’s out there. Nothing changes.”
One area the Packers need to clean up is penalties. Through two games, Green Bay is the most penalized team in the league with 26 infractions for 231 yards, including a league-high four unnecessary roughness penalties.
While the Packers rank last in the NFL with 129 rushing yards (and 29th with just 3.3 yards per carry), the Falcons stand seventh with 277 yards while gaining 4.4 per carry. Bijan Robinson has been the workhorse with 155 yards on 37 carries while catching 11 passes for 99 yards and the Falcons’ lone touchdown.
The Falcons placed starting cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. on injured reserve Tuesday with a groin injury. Defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring) sat out practice.
Green Bay’s busy injury report for Tuesday’s walkthrough included guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe) and defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf) as non-participants. Belton (elbow) was one of six players limited.
–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media
