‘This Team Might Be Cursed’ — NFL World Stunned As Cooper Rush Is Latest Falcons QB to Suffer Injury After Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr.

The Atlanta Falcons ' quarterback room continues to complicate the team's Week 1 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers .

One day after the Falcons ruled out Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday's opener against the Steelers, Atlanta announced that replacement starter Cooper Rush has been experiencing back spasms on Saturday.

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The Falcons said Rush is still expected to start in Week 1, but the latest health scare added another twist to a QB room that's already missing Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr.

Atlanta radio station 680 The Fan summed things up by writing, "This team might be cursed."

Barstool Sports' Big Cat said , "Cursed QB room."

NFL analyst Marcus Mosher joked , "The Steelers voodoo is undefeated."

The Falcons' problems have piled up quickly. Tagovailoa, who won the Week 1 job earlier in the week, was ruled out Friday with an oblique injury.

Penix will also be inactive as he continues rehabbing his way to full fitness from the ACL injury that ended his 2025 season.

NFL analyst Ted Nguyen wrote simply , "A lot of back pain in Atlanta."

NFL Network reporter Taylor Bisciotti added , "Geesh. It just keeps getting worse for Atlanta 🤦‍♀️. Kevin Stefanski is cursed."

The important news, however, is that Rush has not been ruled out. The Falcons' official update said he experienced back spasms earlier in the day but will still start against Pittsburgh.

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That leaves undrafted rookie Jack Strand as the expected backup. Strand had already been forced into work during training camp when injuries left the rookie taking first-team snaps. He looked solid in the preseason, but Rush is obviously a more experienced option.

The timing could hardly be worse for Kevin Stefanski's first regular-season game as Atlanta's head coach. The Falcons initially named Tagovailoa the starter on Monday after an offseason competition compromised heavily by Penix's rehabilitation.

Tagovailoa then aggravated an oblique injury in Thursday's practice. This opened the door for Rush to take first-team reps before Atlanta officially ruled out Tua on Friday. Rush now has his own issue less than 24 hours before kickoff.

The Falcons signed the veteran at the start of training camp to provide experience given the quarterback room's questions. Rush has made 16 career starts and spent 2025 with the Baltimore Ravens after his long run as Dak Prescott 's backup in Dallas .

Tagovailoa's 72.1 QB Impact Score ranked No. 28 among qualifying quarterbacks in 2025, but the Falcons hope he can improve on that mark once he gets healthy.

For now, Atlanta says Rush is still starting. Considering how the week has gone, simply getting its quarterback to kickoff healthy would qualify as progress.