Cooper Rush to make 2nd straight start at quarterback for Falcons in home opener against Panthers

ATLANTA (AP) — Cooper Rush will make his second straight start at quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s home opener against the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers, coach Kevin Stefanski announced Friday.

Rush threw two interceptions, including T.J. Watt’s pick-6 in the fourth quarter, in last week’s 20-13 opening loss at Pittsburgh. Rush completed 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s the National Football League, so you’re gonna have some plays, you’re going to have some moments, you’re going to have some times that you don’t play your best or you’re not at your best and you bounce back,” Stefanski said when asked about Rush’s potential for better results. “So I expect nothing less from our football team, not just one person.”

Rookie Jack Strand will be Atlanta’s backup.

Rush, who is in his ninth season, will be making his 18th start. He was 4-4 in eight starts with Dallas in 2024 before going 0-2 in two starts with Baltimore last season.

“If you take the totality of his work, he’s been an efficient quarterback and a guy that I really respect his game,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said Friday when asked about Rush starting. “He has been in this role at different times throughout his career where he is asked to step in and keep the ship moving. He did that in Dallas for a while. So what I expect is a guy who is going to be ready.”

Tua Tagovailoa was named the starter at the beginning of last week but was ruled out after suffering an oblique injury three days before the game. Michael Penix Jr. also was inactive against the Steelers as he continues his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that ended his 2025 season.

Rush played the full game at Pittsburgh despite suffering back spasms on Saturday. It was a difficult starting assignment after not having the normal practice-week snaps with the starters. Rush downplayed the challenge as the normal life of a backup quarterback but acknowledged he’s had more time to prepare this week.

“It’s just having a better feel for some of the reads and things like that,” he said Wednesday. “It’s stuff you work on week to week. It never changes. So definitely, as you get in a groove, Week 1, you get in the next week. The next week, you try to get in a groove, and that stuff sometimes just irons itself out.”

Stefanski said Wednesday that Tagovailoa was “getting better.” Tagovailoa did not practice Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, leaving his status uncertain for Atlanta’s Week 3 game at Green Bay on Thursday night.

Rush and Penix shared snaps with the No. 1 offense in practice this week, but Penix was listed as out on Friday’s injury report and Tagovailoa was listed as doubtful.

Penix said Wednesday there are “just a couple technical things that I want to hit, some goals that I have” before he feels ready to play in a game. He did not rule out the possibility of reaching those goals before Sunday.

Panthers WR Jalen Coker set to start

Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker had no injury designation for Sunday’s game after being in a walking boot earlier this week because of an ankle issue. Coker practiced fully on Friday and is set to start, according to Canales.

Coker is coming off a huge performance in the season opener, catching eight passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Carolina’s 59-37 loss to Chicago.

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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

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