The Atlanta Falcons beat the Green Bay Packers 35-14 at Lambeau Field on Thursday night in front of 76,955 fans, leaving both teams at 1-2. The result marked the 2026 season debut of quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who missed the first two games while recovering from a partially torn left ACL. It was also a sharp turnaround for an Atlanta offense that had managed just 16 combined points in its first two games.
How the game went
Green Bay scored first, on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Christian Watson in the first quarter. Atlanta answered before the end of the quarter on a 3-yard run by Bijan Robinson. The Falcons added a 44-yard Nick Folk field goal in the second quarter, then went ahead 17-7 at halftime on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Penix to Austin Hooper with 59 seconds left in the half.
Atlanta opened the second-half scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run by Brian Robinson Jr. in the third quarter. In the fourth, Folk kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 27-7, before Green Bay’s Matthew Golden caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Love with 8:18 remaining to cut the deficit to 27-14. Atlanta closed the scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run by Bijan Robinson, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Penix to Chris Blair, for the final 35-14 margin.
Penix’s return
Penix completed 18 of 25 passes for 256 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and was not sacked in his first game back. He had season-ending surgery in November 2025 to repair the partially torn ACL, suffered in a Week 11 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney intercepted Penix once; Atlanta’s Xavier Watts intercepted Love once. Before Thursday, Cooper Rush, whom ESPN describes as Atlanta’s third-string quarterback, had started both of the team’s games, according to ESPN; Atlanta lost 20-13 at Pittsburgh and 34-3 to Carolina.
The running game and London
Bijan Robinson carried 29 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns, including a 55-yard run, and Brian Robinson Jr. added 10 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. Atlanta finished with 242 rushing yards and 498 total yards and held the ball for 37 minutes and 5 seconds. Wide receiver Drake London caught nine passes for 194 yards, with a long gain of 68.
According to ESPN Research, Atlanta ended a streak of 27 consecutive drives to start the season without a snap inside the red zone in the first quarter Thursday — a streak tied with the 1997 Detroit Lions for the second-longest in the past 45 seasons, behind the 1992 New England Patriots’ 34.
The Packers’ side
Love completed 28 of 53 passes for 312 yards with two touchdowns and the one interception. Golden caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, and Watson caught seven for 96 yards and a touchdown. Green Bay finished with 328 total yards but only 17 rushing yards on nine carries. The Packers had averaged 64.5 rushing yards per game entering Thursday, last in the league, according to ESPN.
The Packers played without edge rusher Micah Parsons (ACL) and running back Josh Jacobs, who is on the commissioner’s exempt list, ESPN reported. Green Bay had also ruled out Aaron Banks, Jayden Reed and Zach Bako-Bewele before the game; ESPN reported that Bako-Bewele’s knee injury will keep him out for the rest of the season.
The Packers’ own game story, by Wes Hodkiewicz and Mike Spofford on packers.com, put it this way: “The Packers’ streak of 13 straight wins in home openers ended Thursday night with a 35-14 loss to the Falcons at Lambeau Field.”
What’s next
The Falcons travel to face the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 5. The Packers head to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers on Oct. 4.