Falcons at Steelers, seven days out: still no QB1, still a real game

Week 1 is Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Steelers. FOX, 1 p.m. ET, Acrisure Stadium. Seven days. Kevin Stefanski still has not named a quarterback.

Ian Cunningham told ESPN the call is a group vote — himself, Stefanski, president of football Matt Ryan, owner Arthur Blank — and they will tell you when they tell you. That is not a teaser. That is the whole Stefanski era in one sentence.

Four QBs, zero C patches, one kickoff

The 53 still has Michael Penix Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush, and Jack Strand. Penix tore his left ACL last November, did not play a preseason snap, and only got into 11-on-11 work on Aug. 24. Cunningham said last week they want more of those reps before they pick. Tua signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal after Miami cut him in March, missed about a week of camp with a tight back, and started the preseason finale. Rush and Strand ran the early camp reps and both made the cut.

Cunningham would not even say Rush and Strand are out of it. Assistant GM Jeff Scott's line was "whoever goes out there works and earns it." The captains vote already told you the locker room is not waiting on that room: Bijan Robinson, Chris Lindstrom, Jessie Bates III, Divine Deablo, Nick Folk. No quarterback. Last year Penix had a C. This year they stopped at five on purpose.

If you need a guess, most of the league is still guessing Penix or Tua. Atlanta has not given you a guess. Do not pretend they have.

The defense that has to cover for the mystery

Jalon Walker is done for the year (ACL). James Pearce Jr. is in an eight-game personal-conduct sit that started with the roster deadline. The pass-rush plan is Za'Darius Smith, Samson Ebukam, Cameron Thomas, Gervon Dexter on the interior after the Clark Phillips / 2027 fifth trade to Chicago, and whoever Nate Ollie can steal snaps from.

Friday the 49ers poached edge Khalid Kareem off the practice squad. Atlanta put Bralen Trice back on it — the 2024 third-rounder who missed two seasons and did not make this 53. That is not a Week 1 starter. That is the depth chart telling you the edge room is still a construction site.

Bijan is the No. 3 player on the NFL Top 100 and the highest-paid running back in the league. Drake London is still Drake London. The offensive line voted Lindstrom captain for a reason. None of that solves first-and-10 if the guy under center is still a committee meeting.

What Pittsburgh actually is on the calendar

ESPN has the Steelers as a 3.5-point home favorite. The rest of the card is the usual Week 1 noise until Atlanta names a quarterback and the first injury report posts. Kickoff is still a week away. The interesting part is not a spread. It is whether Stefanski's first regular-season snap in this building goes to a guy who has not played since November or a one-year veteran who lost his last job.

The Falcons will have their starting quarterback speak this week, per The Falcoholic. That is the press conference that ends the bit. Until then, every practice clip is scouting-combine theater.

Bird Gang bottom line

Seven days. Four quarterbacks. Zero named. Walker gone, Pearce gone, Trice back on the taxi because San Francisco raided the edge leftovers. Atlanta-Pittsburgh is the first real pick of the Stefanski season, and you will probably have to lock it at pickembaby.com before Flowery Branch does. Pencil the Falcons. Wait for the actual starter. Then argue.

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