Washington Commanders (2-1) @ Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
Sunday, September 28, 1:00 PM ET
We tried to tell you this week’s slate of games didn’t have great headliners, and this is our third straight example to start things off.
The Washington Commanders are going on the road to face off against Dan Quinn’s old team, the Atlanta Falcons, who he once took all the way to the Super Bowl. It’ll be an interesting homecoming for Quinn, but a tough test for a Falcons team that just got blown out by…(squints, checks notes)
…the Carolina Panthers?
The way the Falcons got dog-walked by the Panthers was a staggering reality check for them in Week 3. After a nice defensive showing against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, the Falcons proved their success was nothing but a mirage and now will have to fight hard to bounce back against a pretty well-rounded overall operation.
The Commanders have shown themselves to be somewhat susceptible this season, but when a team scores 41 points with a backup QB in the game, you know they’ve got something figured out.
The Falcons are going to need a repeat performance defensively like we saw against the Vikings a couple of weeks ago, while simultaneously also needing a true breakout game from Michael Penix Jr. Penix has not been good since a near-comeback win in Week 1 against the Bucs.
Vegas is not buying that the Commanders are going to get a repeat performance from Marcus Mariota, because they’re just 2.5-point favorites on the road, another toss-up kind of game for the oddsmakers. Even if Mariota plays this game, I would think the Commanders are bigger favorites until Michael Penix and the Falcons can prove otherwise.
Prediction: Commanders win 23-19