The Green Bay Packers suffered a significant home loss to the Atlanta Falcons, losing 35-14 in their first game at Lambeau Field for the season. This defeat, coupled with earlier poor performances, raises questions about head coach Matt LaFleur’s future despite his recent contract extension. The article focuses on the lack of offensive diversity and poor performance by quarterback Jordan Love as key factors contributing to the Packers' current 1-2 record.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Michael Penix Jr., who suffered a torn ACL in November 2025, was named the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons against the Green Bay Packers on September 24, just one week after the Falcons' brutal 34-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons hope that Penix's return will provide a spark to an offense that failed to reach the red zone in their first two games of the season. Penix worked hard during his recovery and is set to play for the first time since November 16, 2025. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa will back up Penix after missing the first two regular-season games due to an oblique injury. The game, which starts at 8:15 p.m. ET, is streamed exclusively on Prime Video. Despite being winless (0-2), the Falcons aim for their first victory of the season against a Packers team that comes into this home opener with a record of 1-1 following an overtime win over the New York Jets. The game will be played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Written for “Michael Penix Jr Returns Falcons vs P…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 18 other(s) covering the same event.
The Green Bay Packers finally opened Lambeau Field for the first time this regular season, where they hoped to make it 14 straight home openers where they’ve come away with a victory on Thursday night against a struggling Atlanta Falcons team.
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they → open → team
Instead, the Packers were blown out by an 0-2 team on their home turf, and now a big question arises.
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question → blow → turf
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
LaFleur signed a multi-year contract extension at the beginning of this year, which wasn’t considered a "prove-it deal," per ESPN.
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which → sign → ESPN
But what happened in this 35-14 loss certainly warms his seat as the Packers fall to 1-2 to start the year.
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Packers → happen → year
In Week 1, a second-half collapse resulted in a Vikings victory to open the season.
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collapse → result → season
Then, the Packers were close to falling to the New York Jets on the road in a game they were heavily favored.
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they → fall → game
It took overtime in rainy conditions to escape New Jersey with a 20-17 win.
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It → take → win
As for Thursday night’s performance, it was more of the same that was seen in the first two weeks: a lack of diversity between the run and pass games, poor offensive line play and quarterback Jordan Love not being able to handle the pressure in his pocket.
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Love → see → pocket
The sold-out Lambeau Field crowd was raining down boos and jeers from the stands throughout this contest, as Love and his receivers couldn’t get on the same page, drives stalled and the Falcons started to find their offensive spark now that Michael Penix Jr. was finally healthy enough to play.
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Jr. → sell → spark
Oh, and Bijan Robinson once again proved why he is one of those rare NFL talents with his ability to totally take over a game when he has the ball in his hands.
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he → prove → hands
Before we get to the Falcons’ positives in this game, back to LaFleur’s situation in Green Bay.
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we → get → Bay
Since last year, including the Wild Card Round, the Packers are just 1-7 in their last eight contests.
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Packers → include → contests
As the fan base collectively shakes their heads at the start of this season, and audibly shows their frustration at the first home game of the season, could the thought of keeping sustainability at the head coach position change in Green Bay?
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thought → shake → Bay
LaFleur entered his eighth season with the Packers this year, and he is the only active head coach that has been with his team that long and not reached the Super Bowl.
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that → enter → Bowl
Yes, it’s still early in the season, but just food for thought.
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it → ’ → thought
On the other sideline, there were tons of smiles, and none more infectious than that of Robinson, who finished the game with 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
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who → be → yards
All week long, the Packers preached stopping Robinson, understanding that’s exactly what happened in Weeks 1 and 2, when the Falcons struggled to get anything going on offense.
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anything → preach → offense
Well, Robinson torched this Packers defense with chunk runs, including a 55-yarder, and that also made life easier for Penix’s return under center.
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life → torch → center
The Falcons’ signal caller, whom they wished could’ve been healthy to start the year but hadn’t been fully recovered from his torn ACL in 2025, found his rhythm after opening the game with an interception on Atlanta’s first drive.
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they → wish → drive
The Falcons drew up quick passing plays for Penix to get going, and once the Packers had to respect Robinson’s running ability, play-action passes were Penix’s bread and butter.
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passes → draw → ability
Most of them went to Drake London, who also had his breakout game of the season.
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who → go → season
Like Robinson, he also had 194 yards, though through nine receptions, including a 68-yard catch-and-run that sealed the deal in the fourth quarter for the Falcons.
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that → have → Falcons
He may not have had a touchdown, but this was the performance Penix needed after not finding anything with Cooper Rush in the first two games of the year.
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Penix → have → year
For the Falcons, perhaps they simply needed competent quarterback play all along, and new head coach Kevin Stefanski can put together wins now that he has one in place, especially if the defense continues to play the way they did in an incredible performance.
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they → need → performance
But for the Packers, tough questions need to be asked already this year because it seems to be picking up where it left off in the worst ways possible.
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it → need → ways
The Aporia
