It is a poorly veiled cry for help.Meet the Atlanta Falcons.FALCONS NAME SIXTH DIFFERENT WEEK 1 STARTING QUARTERBACK IN SIX YEARSAtlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa passes against the Miami Dolphins during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Friday, Aug.28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)On Monday, the first day of their week's preparation for a Sunday season-opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers, they announced Tua Tagovailoa as their starter.But beyond that opener?"I don't think it's fair to really go past this week on anything related to our football team," head coach Kevin Stefanski said.Left unsaid is Michael Penix Jr.
is advancing to a place where he can play in the regular season.So his starter status is looming.Also unsaid: The Falcons are in some trouble.The fact is, great teams typically get great quarterback play.
It doesn't mean they have great quarterbacks.It means the ones they have play great.Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
warms up before a preseason NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Friday, Aug.15, 2025, in Atlanta.
(AP Photo/Mike Stewart)Jalen Hurts is not a great quarterback.But he played great in helping the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.
Josh Allen is a great quarterback.But he hasn't played well enough, especially not in the playoffs, to get the Bills to a Super Bowl.Based on that, we celebrate the Wednesday night kickoff of the 2026 NFL season with a ranking of what the league's 32 starting quarterbacks are likely to do in the next five months.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.
DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!This is a predictive ranking of which QBs are about to ball and dominate.And which are about to curl up in a ball and disappoint:32.
Jacoby Brissett: He's a fine backup quarterback, but as a starter, he's a fine backup quarterback. 31.Deshaun Watson: Unless he has a time machine that teleports him back to 2020, this isn't going...