Normally, it’s not a good idea to panic about something after one game of the NFL season. Especially since many teams don’t have preseason starters.

But the Atlanta Falcons had a very strange first week.

The Falcons had an offense no one expected and they didn’t run in preseason, lining up almost exclusively in pistol or shotgun formations. They say it has nothing to do with the health of their 36-year-old quarterback who has a torn Achilles tendon, although that’s hard to believe.

Many offensive teams struggled last week, but in the Falcons’ 18-10 loss, one thing was clear: Kirk Cousins ​​wasn’t moving at all, and the Falcons did everything they could to keep him from having to.

“I feel like Kirk is healthy,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Monday. “He’s been healthy since he’s been here, since he’s been back.”

Maybe that was the plan for Week 1. Maybe the Falcons go back to what appears to be their normal offense in Week 2, or maybe they want to use the pistol/shotgun and things just look better in Week 2. It’s just hard to believe that Cousins’ health had nothing to do with their approach. And if that’s the case, it seems unlikely that will change in a week or a month.

Falcons had a predictable offense

The problems the Falcons faced on offense were different from other teams because the offensive scheme was so unexpected.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Falcons lined up in either the pistol or shotgun on 48 of the 50 plays. In the pistol, the quarterback lines up about 4 yards behind the center with the running back behind him. That means the quarterback isn’t lined up under the center and doesn’t have to drop back or get to a spot to hand off the ball. And the Falcons were astonishingly predictable. The Falcons had no designed runs on 22 shotgun snaps and ran it out of the pistol on 81% of their plays. Any NFL team can replicate that pattern.

This was also troubling: The Falcons didn’t run a play-action play. They’re the only NFL team that didn’t, via Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports. It becomes a lot easier to stop the run when there’s no threat of play-action.

That offense isn’t what it showed in the preseason. In the preseason opener, which was Michael Penix Jr.’s only game, the Falcons used a lot of shotgun in passing situations. But it was a standard under-center offense on early downs, with regular play-action passing. When Taylor Heinicke entered the game, the offense was the same. The only snap of pistol came with Penix in the game, at the goal line.

It may not have come completely out of the blue, though. The Falcons’ new offensive coordinator, Zac Robinson, came from the Los Angeles Rams, who used the gun last season and were still using it extensively in Week 1. It could have been the Falcons’ plan, and they simply didn’t want to play their hand in the preseason with a new coaching staff. Cousins ​​didn’t play in the preseason anyway. Morris said it was simply a strategic decision against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It all depends on the situation of the game plan of who you’re playing,” Morris said, via the team’s website. “When you go out there and you put those guys in what we do and how we want to play and you try to put those guys in good positions to block those guys, the aliens that the Pittsburgh Steelers have, you’ve got to try to figure those things out.”

Whatever the reason, it didn’t work against the Steelers. And no team will be studied more in Week 2 than the Falcons.

What will Atlanta look like in Week 2?

It’s not a huge surprise that Atlanta will have to compromise on Cousins ​​and his health. He wasn’t the most athletic quarterback in the NFL before his Achilles tear. But when he can’t move even a little bit, that’s a tough problem to deal with.

Cousins ​​hasn’t looked sharp, and we’ll see if that’s due to health or rust after not playing in preseason. Either way, the play-calling with zero play-action passes and a predictable split between shotgun passes and pistol runs needs to change. If it can’t change due to Cousins’ health, then Atlanta may need to consider changing its quarterback.

If Cousins ​​doesn’t look better, it’s inevitable that calls will come for Penix Jr., whom the Falcons selected with the eighth overall pick, and they will be justified. At this point, there has to be concern that the Falcons spent $180 million on a quarterback who lacks functional mobility and have to retool their entire offense around it.

The Falcons’ second game is Monday night at the Philadelphia Eagles, which everyone is watching. Maybe the Falcons will play the same offense, just a little smarter, and Cousins ​​will look better with a game under his belt. But if the Falcons struggle again with a statue at quarterback and head back to Atlanta with an 0-2 record, the panic will start to build a little.