The Mike McCarthy and Kevin Stefanski eras are set to begin Sunday in Pittsburgh when the Steelers host the Atlanta Falcons. Quarterback concerns abound for both squads.

The Steelers have a quarterback akin to taking out a library book; you only have access to it for a short time. In this case, it is Aaron Rodgers, a 42 year old signal caller who has already announced this is his last season. What the Steelers will do on the other side of their last year with Rodgers is up in the air.

They have four quarterbacks on their current roster, one more than is typical for an NFL team. The deep depth chart at quarterback is more evidence of the uncertainty at this position in Pittsburgh. Behind Rodgers is Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar. Rudolph is there to add veteran insurance if, and this is more a probability than possibility, when Rodgers gets hurt. While Howard was a sixth-round draft choice after leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to a National Title, Allar is the more likely candidate to develop into the Steelers long-term quarterback choice.

The rookie out of Penn State is in a perfect spot to begin his NFL career while benefiting from the tutoring of his new head coach and not being pressed into duty too early. McCarthy is legendary for developing young quarterbacks, including Rodgers when they were both with the Green Bay Packers.

The quarterback situation in Atlanta is equally muddled. Two years ago, the Falcons tried to solve their quarterback problem twice within weeks, and the moves apparently worked against each other. First, on March 13, 2024, the Falcons backed the Brinks truck up to Kirk Cousins' doorstep and signed him as a free agent for $180 million. Then, the following month, the Falcons spent their first-round draft choice, eighth overall, to acquire Washington Huskies Quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

The move reportedly soured the relationship almost before it began with Cousins and the Falcons. The NFL veteran thought his free agent signing was an indicator that Atlanta was making a full commitment to him being their answer at quarterback for seasons to come. Instead, a month after signing him, Atlanta chose a quarterback high in the draft which was obviously a sign that Penix was their guy for the long haul.

Penix’s career with the Falcons is a lot like another quarterback that came out of the same 2024 draft class which featured six signal callers chosen in the first 12 picks. J.J. McCarthy was chosen by the Minnesota Vikings two picks after the Falcons selected Penix Jr., and the Denver Broncos got Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick. Nix, and the three quarterbacks chosen before Penix and McCarthy, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, have all led their teams into the playoffs and are established as their team’s franchise quarterbacks.

As for Penix Jr. and McCarthy, they have spent more time injured than on the field and both created controversy and dissension on their squads. Despite missing most of his rookie season and turning the quarterbacking duties over to veteran Sam Darnold, who led the Vikings to 14 wins, Minnesota made the decision to let Darnold go and continue in the hopes of developing McCarthy into their franchise leader.

Darnold went on to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl win and McCarthy spent another year getting to know his medical staff a lot better than his teammates. Same with Penix Jr., he may have soured the relationship between Cousins and the Falcons by no fault of his own but also has missed on developing into their franchise quarterback. Instead of a team leader, the Falcons are stuck trying to get Penix Jr. off the injury list and onto the field in much the same way Minnesota is with McCarthy.

This week, the Falcons and Vikings were both scheduled to start first round draft choices from other teams. During the off-season the Falcons acquired Tua Tagovailoa, a one-time first round pick of the Miami Dolphins, while the Vikings added 2019 first overall draft selection of the Arizona Cardinals, Kyler Murray, to their roster.

On the way to his first start with the Falcons, Tua suffered an oblique injury on his right side while throwing a pass during a drill on Thursday. He will miss his start, and Atlanta is still without Penix Jr., nursing another injury, and are left with starting a third string quarterback.

Often, when a team needs to rely on a signal caller that is deep on their depth chart, they have an unproven player who might well be overmatched by the speed of the NFL.

Not the Falcons.

Given both the players listed first on their depth chart, Tua and Penix Jr., have a history of injury problems, the Falcons front office wisely acquired experience to back them up, Cooper Rush. The 10-year veteran was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and during his years in Dallas made 14 starts and won nine of them. He will get the start for Atlanta in Pittsburgh.

The public and wise guys jumped at the Steelers the moment the injury to Tua became known. The wise guys gave three points on the line, while the public has been forced to lay the bloated spread which has risen to six points. I am most often on the other side of “crippling” injuries, more interested in the motivational aspects the injury provides than the actual loss of talent on the field.

We have a classic for the motivational boost here. The Falcons lose their starting quarterback, who is not necessarily a star, and the line adjusts to his loss by three points.

I think the loss of Tua improves the chances of the Falcons upsetting the Steelers based on the need for his teammates to double-down on their efforts to stay with the Steelers. And, because few see it this way, we get the benefit of an extra field goal on the spread.

Qoxhi Picks: Atlanta Falcons (+6) over Pittsburgh Steelers