You don’t get a Green Bay Packers vs Atlanta Falcons matchup very often – Green Bay and Atlanta sit in separate conferences, so the schedule rotation only pairs them up every few years. Today, September 24, 2026, is one of those rare dates, with both teams squaring off at Lambeau Field in Green Bay – and for the first time ever, on a Thursday night.
The Packers walk in at 1-1, still shaking off a Week 1 collapse but riding a gritty overtime win into their home opener. The Falcons are somewhere else entirely – first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski is 0-2 and still hasn’t settled on a quarterback, though tonight might finally be the night Michael Penix Jr. gets on the field. Calling this a “rivalry” undersells it a little – these two have actually met in a Wild Card game, a Divisional round, and an NFC Championship – but a Falcons vs Packers game has a way of being closer than either side’s record suggests.
So here’s what matters going in: where each team is right now, how the series has actually played out over the decades, a look back at the last time they met, how to catch tonight’s game, and some quick FAQs to wrap things up.
Green Bay Packers: Trying to Find Their Finish
Green Bay hasn’t gotten to year eight under Matt LaFleur by blowing things up – the formula’s stayed the same for a while now: pound the ball, let Jordan Love pick his spots, and lean on a defense that’s supposed to be one of the more disruptive units in the league. The problem this year has been the finish. Green Bay led Minnesota 22-10 late in the third quarter of the opener and lost 39-22, capped by a fourth-and-1 sneak that got stuffed after LaFleur waved off a field goal. It’s the kind of collapse that’s followed this team around for a full calendar year now.
Green Bay bounced back in Week 2, grinding out a 20-17 overtime win at the Jets that snapped a six-game losing streak. It wasn’t clean – 14 accepted penalties, a scary start when wide receiver Jayden Reed and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele both got carted off on the opening drive – but Love threw two touchdown passes (16-of-29, 145 yards, no turnovers), Lukas Van Ness had maybe his best game as a pro with sacks on back-to-back overtime plays to force a Jets punt, and rookie kicker Trey Smack calmly buried the game-winning 26-yarder.
What Makes Green Bay’s Offense Tick
- Jordan Love, when protection holds up – 387 yards and an 81-yard bomb to Christian Watson in Week 1 alone
- Kaleb Johnson fronting a run game that’s had to lean on backups after Week 2 injuries
- Matthew Golden and Christian Watson both flashing as real downfield threats early
- Lukas Van Ness turning into the breakout name on a defense that’s rushing the passer as well as almost anyone
- Rookie kicker Trey Smack, 4-for-4 on field goals and already delivering in the clutch
What Green Bay’s Defense Has to Fix
- Tackling and discipline – the Week 1 collapse was as much about penalties handing Minnesota free yards as anything schematic
- Finishing drives on third down, where the Packers have been below league average through two weeks
- Protecting a shorthanded receiving corps after the Week 2 injuries pile up at the wrong time
- Staying aggressive without giving away field position, the exact tension that decided the Vikings game
Green Bay Packers Snapshot
| Detail | |
| Division | NFC North |
| Franchise QB | Jordan Love |
| Head coach | Matt LaFleur (8th season) |
| GM | Brian Gutekunst |
| Identity | Physical run game, boom-or-bust passing, an improving pass rush |
| Recent form | 1-1 through two weeks; six-game losing streak snapped in Week 2 |
| 2026 season start | 1-1 – blew a 12-point lead in a 39-22 loss at Minnesota, then won 20-17 in OT at the Jets |
Green Bay hosts Atlanta tonight as a clear home favorite, and it’s the Packers’ first home game of the season – a chance to build some real momentum in front of a Lambeau crowd that’s watched this team win its last four meetings with the Falcons on home turf.
Atlanta Falcons: Still Waiting on Their Quarterback
Atlanta’s not telling anything close to the same story. Back-to-back 8-9 finishes were enough to get Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot fired, and the front office went all in on a reset – Ian Cunningham as GM, former franchise QB Matt Ryan brought in as president of football, and Kevin Stefanski hired off six years running the Browns.
The quarterback room has been the whole story so far, and not in a good way. Tua Tagovailoa won the Week 1 job in camp, then hurt his oblique in practice days before kickoff. That forced veteran Cooper Rush into the lineup – he went 12-of-22 for 143 yards with a touchdown and two picks in a 20-13 loss at Pittsburgh, Atlanta’s ninth Week 1 loss in 11 years. Tagovailoa still wasn’t ready for Week 2, so Rush started again against Carolina and got benched mid-game after three turnovers in a 34-3 blowout at home. Boos everywhere, injuries piling up, not exactly the debut Stefanski wanted.
Atlanta Falcons Game
Michael Penix Jr. has been working back from a torn ACL suffered last November in an overtime loss to Carolina, cleared for full practice since late August but holding himself out the first two weeks while he built up trust in the knee. Multiple reports this week have him targeting tonight – his 2026 debut, on the road, against a Packers pass rush that’s been one of the better units in football through two weeks. Stefanski wouldn’t confirm a starter publicly, but all signs point to Penix finally getting his shot, with Tagovailoa also expected to be active as a backup option after clearing his own oblique injury.
Both Atlanta losses so far have looked eerily similar – a defense that shows flashes but can’t get off the field, and an offense that can’t sustain anything once Rush starts missing throws. In the Steelers loss, Pittsburgh’s pass rush hit Rush four times and forced the game’s decisive turnover. In the Panthers blowout, Bryce Young went 23-of-36 for 287 yards and three touchdowns while Atlanta racked up three giveaways and lost four different players to injury in the first half alone.
What Makes Atlanta’s Offense Tick
- Michael Penix Jr.’s arm, if he’s up for it tonight, working inside a new Tommy Rees offense for the first time
- Bijan Robinson, who led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last season, as the engine of everything
- Drake London and Kyle Pitts as legit weapons once there’s a real quarterback throwing them the ball
- A Jeff Ulbrich defense still hunting for its first interception of the season
What Atlanta’s Defense Has to Fix
- Getting off the field – the Falcons rank near the bottom of the league in time of possession allowed and third-down stops
- Health, after A.J. Terrell (groin) and Samson Ebukam (hamstring) both went down in Week 2
- Finishing plays – two dropped or bobbled opportunities have already turned into points the other way this season
- Simply generating a takeaway, something this unit hasn’t done once in two games
Atlanta Falcons Snapshot
| Detail | |
| Division | NFC South |
| Franchise QB | Michael Penix Jr. (expected 2026 debut tonight) |
| Head coach | Kevin Stefanski (1st season) |
| GM | Ian Cunningham |
| Identity | Rebuilding around Robinson and (hopefully) Penix under an entirely new staff |
| Recent form | 0-2, last in the NFL in scoring and turnover differential |
| 2026 season start | 0-2 – lost 20-13 at Pittsburgh, then lost 34-3 at home to Carolina with Cooper Rush benched mid-game |
NFL Schedule This Week (Week 3, 2026)
Kickoff for tonight’s Packers vs Falcons game goes at 7:15 p.m. CT from Lambeau Field, and Prime Video has the national broadcast. First-ever Thursday meeting for these two, so it’s a genuine standout on the Week 3 slate.
| Team | Next Matchup | Date | Location |
| Green Bay Packers | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Sun, Oct 4 | Away |
| Atlanta Falcons | at New Orleans Saints (MNF) | Mon, Oct 5 | Away |
Both teams are right back on the road next week – Green Bay to Tampa on a normal Sunday turnaround, Atlanta to New Orleans for a short-week Monday night trip.
Head-to-Head History: The Full Timeline
This series goes back further than most people probably realize – all the way to 1966, when Atlanta was a first-year expansion team getting run off the field. Green Bay’s owned most of it, though Atlanta’s had real windows too, including one of the more famous playoff results in either franchise’s history.
| Date | Winner | Location | Score | Notes |
| 09/17/2023 | Falcons | Away | 25-24 | Falcons close on a 13-0 run; last regular-season meeting before tonight |
| 10/30/2016 | Falcons | Away | 33-32 | Part of an Atlanta run that carried into that year’s playoffs |
| 01/22/2017 | Falcons | Away | 44-21 | NFC Championship Game – sent Atlanta to Super Bowl LI |
| 01/15/2011 | Packers | Away | 48-21 | NFC Divisional playoff, franchise playoff record for Green Bay, en route to Super Bowl XLV |
| 12/31/1995 | Packers | Home | 37-20 | First-ever playoff meeting between the two, an NFC Wild Card win |
| 12/18/1994 | Packers | Home | 21-17 | Favre’s game-winning scramble; last NFL game ever played in Milwaukee |
| 10/23/1966 | Packers | Away | 56-3 | First-ever meeting; still the largest margin of victory in Packers history |
Green Bay leads the all-time regular-season series 17-15, and holds a 2-1 edge in three all-time playoff meetings. Total points across recent history swing heavily on a handful of shootouts more than any real gap in talent – four of the seven games listed above were decided by one score or less, and two more turned on a single fourth-quarter sequence.
It’s also worth noting how lopsided this series was in its earliest years compared to how tight it’s been lately. Green Bay averaged 34.4 points a game while winning the first five meetings outright in the 1960s. Since 2016, meanwhile, four of five meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less – a totally different flavor of game than the one this series started out as.
A Few Things Worth Pointing Out
- Three playoff meetings between these two – a Wild Card, a Divisional round, and an NFC Championship
- Atlanta’s win streak in 2016-17 is the longest active run either side holds in the series
- The Falcons have won three of the last four meetings, even while trailing in the all-time series
- Green Bay’s won four straight at home against Atlanta, part of a 12-4 home record in the series
- Tonight is the first-ever Thursday night edition of this matchup
Three Eras of the Rivalry
Break it down and this series really falls into three distinct stretches.
Era 1: Lombardi-Era Domination (1966-1976). Green Bay ran up a 56-3 win in the very first meeting, still the biggest margin in Packers franchise history, and won the first five meetings outright by an average of 34 points. Atlanta finally got on the board in 1971, and again in 1972 and 1974, before Green Bay settled back in.
Era 2: The Back-and-Forth Years (1979-2010). This is where it actually became a rivalry. Home teams won just about everything through the late ’80s and early ’90s, Favre’s arrival tilted it back Green Bay’s way, and the two sides met in the playoffs for the first time ever on the last weekend of 1995. The stretch closed with the Packers’ 48-21 demolition of Atlanta in the 2010 Divisional round, on the way to a Super Bowl XLV title.
Era 3: The Modern Matchups (2016-Present). The good stuff. Atlanta swept both 2016 meetings, including a 33-32 classic, then finished the job with a 44-21 blowout in the 2017 NFC Championship Game that sent the Falcons to Super Bowl LI. The 2023 meeting was another nail-biter, Atlanta rallying to win 25-24. Tonight adds the next chapter – and it’s the first time these two have ever played on a Thursday.
The Last Time These Two Teams Met: Falcons 25, Packers 24 (Sept. 17, 2023)
With tonight’s game still to be decided, the last actual meeting between these two is the best snapshot available – and it’s a tight one, in line with how this series usually goes lately.
Green Bay led 24-12 late in the third quarter before the Falcons closed it out on a 13-point fourth-quarter run to steal it, 25-24. Desmond Ridder scored on a bootleg touchdown run on fourth-and-4, then set up two more Younghoe Koo field goals, the last one from 25 yards with 57 seconds left. Green Bay’s last three possessions netted just 11 yards and zero first downs. Three of the last four meetings in this series have come down to one score or less.
Passing Leaders
- Jordan Love (GB): 14-of-25, 151 yards, 3 TD
- Desmond Ridder (ATL): 19-of-32, 237 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Leaders
- Bijan Robinson (ATL): 19 carries, 124 yards
- AJ Dillon (GB): 15 carries, 55 yards
Receiving Leaders
- Jayden Reed (GB): 2 TD catches
- Bijan Robinson (ATL): 4 catches, 48 yards
Where Both Teams Stand Entering Tonight’s Game
Three weeks in, the gap between these rosters shows up clearly in the numbers – Atlanta’s offense hasn’t found any rhythm behind the quarterback carousel, and Green Bay’s been middle-of-the-pack everywhere except the moments that actually cost them games.
| Stat | Green Bay Packers | Atlanta Falcons |
| Points Per Game | 21 | 8 |
| Yards Per Game | 309 | 262 |
| Time of Possession | 26:59 | 30:48 |
| Total Defensive Sacks | 7 | 4 |
| Turnover Differential | -2 | -6 |
Green Bay’s pass rush ranks 4th in football through two weeks – exactly the kind of unit that makes life hard on a quarterback making his first start of the season, whoever ends up under center for Atlanta. The Falcons are dead last in the league in scoring and turnover differential, and that gap is showing up clearly in tonight’s line.
Coaching Matchup: LaFleur vs. Stefanski
First-ever meeting between these two, and it’s a matchup of very different career moments. LaFleur’s in year eight, a run that’s included multiple playoff trips and a reputation as one of the better offensive minds in the league – even with a team that’s developed a bad habit of losing games it once controlled.
Stefanski’s basically starting over. Six years and a 45-56 record in Cleveland, two Coach of the Year awards but just a 1-2 playoff mark, before Atlanta brought him in this January to fix a rebuild that had already burned through two coaches. He kept DC Jeff Ulbrich from the old staff but brought in his own guy, Tommy Rees, to run the offense.
| Factor | Green Bay (LaFleur) | Atlanta (Stefanski) |
| Experience level | 8th season, multiple playoff trips | 1st season with new franchise |
| Offensive identity | Physical run game, Love throwing off play-action | Still finding its shape around Penix |
| Staff pedigree | Adam Stenavich (OC), Jonathan Gannon (DC) | Tommy Rees (OC, 1st year), Jeff Ulbrich (DC) |
| Program status | Established playoff contender | Ground-up rebuild |
At the end of the day, this tells you more about where each franchise sits right now than it does about Xs and Os – a team trying to fix its finishing problem against a team trying to figure out who’s even throwing the ball. Stefanski, for his part, has faced this exact situation before in Cleveland – taking over a roster with more question marks than answers and needing an early stretch of games just to figure out who he actually has.
Betting Angle: What the Odds Say
No surprise, given everything above, that Green Bay’s a big favorite tonight. Lines heading into kickoff had the Packers around -250 on the moneyline, roughly a 71% implied win probability, in a game built more on current form than history.
That number leans hard on where each team’s been through two weeks – Green Bay’s 1-1 off a resilient overtime win, Atlanta’s 0-2 and dead last in the league in turnover differential with a quarterback situation that’s still sorting itself out in real time. If Penix does start, expect the number to move a touch closer than it opened, since oddsmakers tend to price in some uncertainty around a quarterback’s first game action off a major knee injury – but even accounting for that, this line still reflects one of the bigger form gaps of the Week 3 slate.
Public money has leaned heavily toward Green Bay so far this week, which tracks with both the home-field angle and Atlanta’s rough start. History offers a small word of caution for anyone loading up on the favorite, though – the last two meetings between these two have both gone to the underdog, including that 2023 game where the Falcons were only a field-goal favorite yet still had to fight off a late Packers push to escape by a single point.
Where to Watch NFL Games (Packers & Falcons Included)
- National broadcast: Prime Video has tonight’s game at 7:15 p.m. CT / 8:15 p.m. ET
- Streaming: Also on NFL+ in addition to Prime Video
- Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Green Bay’s local coverage: NBC26 (WGBA)
- Milwaukee’s local coverage: FOX6 (WITI)
- Radio: Packers Radio Network, flagship 95.7 BIG FM (WRIT), Wayne Larrivee on play-by-play
Given how rarely these two actually cross paths, this probably isn’t a game you’ll see again for a while – regular-season crossovers between the Packers and Falcons are genuinely few and far between. The next scheduled meeting, based on the NFL’s standard division rotation, likely won’t come until at least the 2028 or 2029 season, so tonight is very much a one-off for both fan bases, and the kind of primetime slot neither side gets against the other very often.
What’s Next for Both Teams
Green Bay’s chasing consistency more than anything else right now, trying to prove that last year’s late-game habits aren’t following them into this season. That group – Love, Johnson, and a defense that’s rushing the passer well – heads to Tampa Bay next for a Week 4 Sunday matchup, with a Week 5 home date against Chicago and the return of Micah Parsons looming right behind it on the calendar.
Atlanta’s got smaller, more immediate goals: find out who this team actually is once Penix is finally on the field. Next up is a short-week trip to New Orleans for Monday Night Football, with the Robinson-led offense and a retooled roster still very much a work in progress. Neither team’s season hinges on tonight, but for Atlanta, a competitive showing on the road against a good defense would be a real sign of life this early into a first-year rebuild – especially with a brutal early stretch still ahead that includes road trips to New Orleans and Tampa Bay and a home date against Baltimore before the calendar even turns to November.
Read Also: Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts | Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions
Quick FAQs
Green Bay, by a modest margin – the Packers hold a 17-15 edge in the regular season, plus a 2-1 lead in three playoff meetings.
Yes – three times. A 1995 NFC Wild Card win for Green Bay, a 2010 NFC Divisional win for Green Bay, and a 2016 NFC Championship win for Atlanta.
September 17, 2023, when the Falcons rallied to beat the Packers 25-24 in Atlanta.
That same 2023 game – the Falcons have actually won three of the last four meetings in this series.
Different divisions and conferences mean these two franchises only cross paths based on the NFL’s scheduling rotation, typically every few years.
Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with kickoff at 7:15 p.m. CT on Prime Video.
Whether Michael Penix Jr. finally makes his 2026 debut for a winless Atlanta team, on the road, against one of the league’s better early-season pass rushes.
Mixed bag so far – the pass rush and the raw offensive talent both look real, but the fourth-quarter execution that sank Week 1 is the thing to watch tonight.
Nothing fatal three weeks into a full rebuild, but a fourth straight quarter-driven collapse would put even more pressure.
Source: ESPN
