ATLANTA (AP) — Cooper Rush will be the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback on Sunday at Pittsburgh after Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out on Friday with an oblique injury.
Falcons first-year coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday undrafted rookie Jack Strand will be the backup.
The late change in plans for the season opener came after Stefanski announced Monday that Tagovailoa will open the season as the starter and Michael Penix Jr. will be inactive. Penix did not play in a preseason game as he continues his recovery from a torn ligament in his left knee that ended his 2025 season.
Stefanski said Friday Penix was never an option for Sunday's game, even after Tagovailoa's injury.
“No. Mike will be ready when he's ready,” Stefanski.
The Falcons signed Rush on July 29 after Tagovailoa opened training camp with tightness in his lower back.
Rush, 32, has played in 42 NFL games, including 16 starts in eight seasons, seven with Dallas. The Cowboys went 4-4 in Rush's eight starts in 2024 and Baltimore was 0-2 in his two starts last season.
Rush will be asked to take over the offense after spending little time with the starters during training camp and the preseason.
“That’s the life of a backup quarterback,” Stefanski said. "There’s been great guys over the course of history that do an excellent job of staying ready so they don’t have to get ready and step in. The reason you’re able to do that is because you work so hard in the meeting room and on the practice field to stay up to speed.
“Now, in an ideal world, would you love to have gotten every rep? Of course. That’s a no-brainer. But, I do think there’s examples of guys that come in with no reps, and sometimes it’s after the first play, sometimes it is on play 59, whatever it is. And you’re expected to compete, and you’re expected to hold the standard of the room, in this case, the quarterback room. So Cooper’s been a backup in his career. He’s been the starter. He knows how to prepare.”
Tagovailoa bent over in obvious discomfort after throwing a pass during a portion of Thursday's practice open to media and grabbed his right side. He dropped to the ground for a few seconds before getting up and trying to shake off the injury. He was listed as a limited participant.
Stefanski wouldn't characterize the severity of Tagovailoa's injury or speculate if he might miss multiple games or Penix might be ready next week.
“Disappointed for him, obviously,” Stefanski said of Tagovailoa. “He’s a very competitive person, so disappointed. But he’s gonna rally behind Coop and do everything he can to help Coop.”
Stefanski said he couldn't remember having two top quarterbacks inactive for the opening game of a season. When a reporter suggested the scenario was unbelievable, Stefanski said “Not for me.”
Tagovailoa’s injury robs him of the opportunity to make his Falcons debut at Pittsburgh, the same spot where he made the last start of his rocky final season with Miami.
The Falcons also ruled out cornerback Billy Bowman (Achilles) and offensive tackle Cameron Williams (ankle). Defensive end Za’Darius Smith (shoulder) was listed as questionable.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa speaks at a news conference after an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rebounded Friday and regained much of their losses for the week after oil prices eased off their recent spurt. An update on inflation across the United States that came in close to economists’ expectations, even if prices are still rising too quickly for everyone’s liking, also helped calm the market.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and snapped a four-day losing streak, its longest since June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 509 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%.
They got help from a pullback in oil prices, which had jumped to their highest levels since May because of the ongoing war with Iran. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.8% to settle at $104.61 after getting near $110 overnight.
That took a bit of pressure off inflation, which remains stubbornly high. A report on Friday showed that U.S. consumers had to pay prices for gasoline, food and other costs of living that were 3.4% higher last month than a year earlier.
While still high, that was close to what economists expected and what Wall Street was prepared for. The data also strengthened expectations among traders that the Federal Reserve will feel compelled to hike its main interest rate at its meeting next week.
Such moves are the typical way the Fed tries to rein in high inflation, and they work by filtering through the bond market, making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money, slowing the economy and hopefully removing fuel for further inflation.
The rising expectations for an upcoming hike to rates drove up the yield of the two-year Treasury, which moves with guesses for upcoming Fed action, to 4.62% from 4.56% late Thursday.
Longer-term Treasury yields held steadier, though. That could be a signal that investors in the bond market see upcoming hikes by the Fed as helping to keep control of inflation over the longer term. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose more modestly to 4.97% from 4.95% late Thursday, while the 30-year yield eased to 5.36% from 5.37%.
Economists say hikes could quiet questions about the Fed’s commitment to keeping inflation under control. Worries had risen earlier in the summer about its credibility and whether it would do what’s needed to bring inflation down, even if it causes pain for the economy in the near term.
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh has been adamant about not giving hints about where the Fed may take interest rates, though he did calm some concerns among investors at a speech late last month. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has been pushing for interest rates to go lower rather than higher.
“Symbolism can trump substance, even when it comes to monetary policy,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.
It’s all coming at a moment when confidence among Americans continues to sour. A preliminary report from the University of Michigan on Friday said U.S. consumer sentiment is falling, with declines for both Democrats and Republicans.
Their expectations for inflation coming in the year ahead jumped to 4.6% from 4% last month. That’s the highest reading since June, and it’s concerning for the Fed and for economists because it can trigger a vicious cycle of behavior that worsens inflation.
On Wall Street, Kroger rose 2.7% after the grocer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also held firm on its forecast for profit over the fiscal year, even though it trimmed its forecast for an important underlying measure of revenue growth.
ACV Auctions, whose digital marketplace connects wholesale buyers and sellers of vehicles, soared 44.2% after Copart said it would pay $10.50 in cash for each of the company’s shares. Copart, whose online vehicle auctions sold more than 4 million units in the last year, fell 2.6%.
An early jump for Oracle faded as trading progressed after the tech giant reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. After initially leaping 8.5%, its stock swiveled between gains and losses and finished with a loss of 1.7%.
Stocks closely tied to the artificial-intelligence industry broadly became shaky this summer on worries that the AI frenzy may have sent prices too high.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 65.28 points to 7,656.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 509.19 to 52,573.29, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 251.31 to 26,333.04.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe as oil prices eased. London’s FTSE 100 added 0.4% after a report said the U.K. economy was stronger in July than economists expected.
Stock markets were weaker in Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.9% and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.8%.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.
The per-gallon price is displayed on an electronic sign outside a QT gasoline station Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Greenwood Village, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
