FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Welcome back to Early Bird Report!

Atlanta is coming off its first victory of the season, beating Green Bay 35-14, and what a win it was. The Falcons broke a 13-game win streak in home openers for the Packers at Lambeau Field, put up 500 yards before the final kneel-downs, and saw Bijan Robinson and Drake London accomplish something no other teammates have before.

"Proud of the effort," head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game. "Had to be resilient on a short week, I thought we were, and then very, very proud of the complementary ball that was out there. It starts with our special teams. I thought we covered kicks really well, and then just feeding off of each other. Our defense gets a huge stop there in the second half, in the third quarter and our offense goes 90 (yards). It didn't put the game away by any stretch of the imagination, but it just showed that's something we can do, take the ball, whether it's by turnover on downs or otherwise and go score a touchdown. I'm proud overall of the effort. It counts as one and we've got to get back at it next week."

The day after each game this season, we will collect all the nuggets we haven't used and organize them in a digestible way to give fans as comprehensive a view of the team as possible.

Here are the notes and quotes you should know from Falcons vs. Packers

An all-time performance by the run defense

Atlanta's offense produced many fireworks, which I will get to a little later on, but let's start with one of the true revelations of the 2026 season so far: The run defense has made massive strides.

Green Bay managed just 17 yards on the ground Thursday night, the fewest rushing yards the Falcons have allowed in a single game in franchise history.

"When you can run the ball like that and stop the run how we did—we're going to win a lot of ball games like that," safety Jessie Bates III said. "I think that is what Kevin was getting to, and we finally put it together in a complimentary game, and that's what we're about here in Atlanta. I can't wait to see what we continue to do."

The Falcons entered Thursday night boasting the NFL's top run defense and allowed an average of 63 yards per game through the first two weeks. They kicked things up a notch in Green Bay and now allow just 47.7 rushing yards per game.

Give it up for Atlanta's dynamic duo

You don't need me to tell you Bijan Robinson and Drake London are a great pair of offensive weapons, but I will. At various points on Thursday night, both Robinson and London took over the game for Atlanta. Robinson finished with 194 rushing yards—213 total yards from scrimmage—and London finished with 194 receiving yards, the most he's had in a single game as a pro.

The identical stat production in their respective areas of expertise highlights how dynamic the Falcons' offense can be when everything is in place, but London still believes there's more the unit can do.

"It can be considered the standard, but I still think there is another notch, another two notches that we can go as a team," London said. "That is what we are soul searching for right now. Stefanski does a great job of not letting us be complacent and holds us accountable to a higher standard."

As mentioned in the intro, Robinson and London achieved something Thursday night that no other teammates have before in league history. It was the third time Robinson surpassed 150 rushing yards and London surpassed 150 receiving yards in the same game. This game broke the tie with Tyreek Hill and De'Von Achane, who did so twice together in Miami, and Clem Daniels and Art Powell, who also did so twice for the Oakland Raiders in the 1960s.

"It means a lot," Robinson said of sharing this record with London. "Me and Drake, that's my real-life brother. I call him my blood brother because we really are. We do everything together. We work hard together. We strain together. Off the field, we talk about everything. Seeing the adversity that we've had to face throughout our career together and for these kinds of moments to happen, it's pretty special. I know he's enjoying it. I'm enjoying it, too."

"That's cool and all, but I will still sometimes be hanging out with my friends back home and be freaking out because Bijan texted me," London said. "He's going to be a gold jacket wearer. Seriously. It's really, really cool, and I am blessed to be a part of something like that. Little me is excited."

Michael Penix Jr. looked solid in return

Thursday night was a big moment for Penix. It was the first time back on the field in more than 10 months, and he showed remarkable resiliency to return to the starting lineup.

"I feel great for him, and I've told him this in person and I've told you guys, I'm proud of him," Stefanski said after the game. "It's not easy to rehab from injuries. It's a tough thing to do, what he's put himself through – the extra workouts in the weight room, the extra treatments in the training room, all those times that he's out in the field (and) was running when no one was watching. That's just him and the trainers. I give the medical staff a ton of credit. (I'm) proud of all of that. I got to witness it and tonight is something you can build on."

Penix's health wasn't the only reason Thursday intrigued fans. It also marked the first opportunity to see how he would operate within a new offensive scheme run by coordinator Tommy Rees. Turns out, he can operate the offense just fine.

The start was a bit rocky, though. Penix completed just one of his first five passes in the Falcons' first two possessions and tossed an interception on his third throw of the game. For an offense that turned the ball over five times in Week 2 against the Panthers, it was an undignified beginning.

"He was deep in the tablet," Robinson said of Penix after the interception. "So, I was like, 'Yo, Mike, just flush it. Who cares, bruh? Just flush it.' This has happened before when he played against the Commanders a couple years ago. He threw a pick on the first drive and started hooping. With him, I just wanted him to know that we had his back. We all are right here. He's not alone. And that's why he has playmakers to go take it off of him. He played exceptional after that."

Exceptional is the right word to explain how Penix settled into the game. As the crowd under the lights at Lambeau Field became increasingly anxious about their own offense's performance, Penix looked composed and comfortable while executing the offense. After beginning the game 1-of-5, Penix completed 17 of his final 20 passes for 239 yards with a touchdown. His final stat line from his return was 18-of-25 for 256 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

"Early on, definitely after that interception," Penix said of when he started to get a feel for the game. "I started getting into a rhythm and everything started clicking with Bijan and BRob, them boys running the ball, that helped everything in the pass game as well. What they did had a lot to do with it."

Rees dialed up several screen passes to help Penix get a feel for live action and moved him under center often. According to Next Gen Stats, Penix took 35 snaps from under center, which is the most in a single game of his NFL career. His previous career high was eight snaps from under center.

Gervon Dexter Sr. doing big things

A relative newcomer to the Falcons' roster, Dexter has made his presence felt quickly. Atlanta acquired Dexter in a trade amidst roster cutdowns, and the 6-foot-6, 326-pound interior defender has played 53% of the team's defensive snaps so far as part of the front rotation. He's had a big impact on both the run defense and the pass rush.

According to Next Gen Stats, Dexter generated five pressures on 27 pass rushes—a pressure rate of 18.5%. It was the second time this season Dexter recorded five or more pressures in a game, and the first time he has recorded five or more pressures in multiple games in a single season. He has 15 total pressures so far this season, which leads all interior defenders heading into Sunday.

Not far behind Dexter on that list is Brandon Dorlus, who is coming off a breakout season in which he registered 8.5 sacks. Dorlus was extremely fast off the line Thursday night and disrupted the pocket around Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Per Next Gen Stats, Dorlus had six pressures on Thursday night, which tied him with Cameron Thomas for the team lead. Dorlus and Dexter have combined for 27 pressures so far this season, which are the most by any interior duo.

"Outstanding," Stefanski said of the team's pass rush. "Like I told them, they harassed the quarterback. I don't know what the sacks say, and I think sacks can be liars. We love to get the sacks whenever we can, but you want to pressure the quarterback, and I thought [Love] was under pressure quite a bit."