By Gus "Walk-Off" Fields
Lambeau Field has seen a lot of things in 13 straight home openers won by the Green Bay Packers. It had not seen this: its own fans booing the home team off the turf on a Thursday night.
The Atlanta Falcons ended that home-opening streak in violent fashion, routing Green Bay 35-14 behind Michael Penix Jr., who was playing his first game since tearing his ACL last November. Penix passed for 256 yards and a touchdown, and according to ESPN's account of the game, he showed what was described as "resiliency" in a return that revived an Atlanta attack that had looked lost without him. Bijan Robinson and Drake London did the rest, both breaking free repeatedly against a Packers defense that had no answers.
For Green Bay, the loss marked the worst start of coach Matt LaFleur's eight seasons in charge. LaFleur did not sugarcoat it afterward, telling reporters, "I don't know what we're doing well," a blunt admission from a coach whose offense had built a reputation for precision. He called the night a "butt-whooping," and nobody in the building was inclined to argue — Packers fans made their frustration audible throughout the second half.
The stakes go beyond one Thursday night. Green Bay built its identity in the LaFleur era on being nearly unbeatable at home to open a season; that streak is gone now, and so is any illusion that this offense is humming. Atlanta, meanwhile, gets proof of concept: with a healthy Penix, the Falcons look like a team capable of turning a preseason storyline — can he come back the same? — into a real answer on the field.
Final score's the last thing that mattered here. What mattered was a quarterback getting his legs back under him, and a franchise finding out, in real time, it still has questions nobody in Green Bay wants to hear.
— Compiled from reporting by ESPN and BBC Sport.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."