Benched after rough showing

Rush completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing twice for 20 yards before being benched with in the third quarter of the Falcons' 34-3 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.

Rush's afternoon was about as difficult as his numbers suggest, and after he tossed his second interception of the day with 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, the veteran quarterback's afternoon was done. Rookie replacement Jack Strand wasn't any better than Rush and tossed a pick-six during his time in the game, but if either Michael Penix (knee) or Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) is able to suit up for Thursday's Week 3 road matchup against the Packers, Rush may not necessarily be a shoo-in for No. 2 quarterback duties over his first-year teammate.