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Atlanta beat Indianapolis 34-6 in Week 2 of the preseason in a game that neither team's presumed Week 1 starting quarterback dressed up for. Michael Penix Jr. never appeared for Atlanta at all, which turned this into a showcase for two Falcons skill players and a rough data point for Indianapolis's real starter.
Goodson was the most explosive player on the field: six carries for 59 yards, a 9.8 average, capped by a 49-yard touchdown run. Cash Jones was Atlanta's most versatile weapon, a genuine dual threat: four catches for 62 yards and a 13-yard receiving touchdown, plus seven carries for 41 yards on the ground. Nathan Carter did the goal-line grunt work, finding the end zone but needing 17 carries to get to 42 yards.
Jack Strand threw for 212 yards and a touchdown on 12 of 17 passing, a 132.5 rating, while Cooper Rush was nearly as efficient in relief (10 of 11, 86 yards, 99.2 rating). Both quarterbacks were the backups' backups, which is exactly why Atlanta piled up 34 points against a Colts defense that was doing the same thing on the other side.
Richardson went 3 of 9 for 24 yards and was sacked twice, a 42.4 rating. Riley Leonard got the more extended run and wasn't much better statistically: 7 of 14 for 62 yards, a 62.2 rating. Neither line says anything definitive about Week 1, but with the Colts' quarterback job still genuinely open, Richardson's specific numbers here are worth remembering exactly as they are, without embellishment.
Two Falcons backs flashed here, and they are worth different amounts. Cash Jones is the more interesting profile because his production came in two phases of the game: catching passes and running the ball. A back who can line up as a receiving threat has a route to standalone value even behind a lead runner, since receptions generate points independent of goal-line work. Tyler Goodson's burst is the flashier line, but a 49-yard touchdown run does most of the heavy lifting in his average, and long runs against thinned-out defenses are the least repeatable events in a box score. Goodson is worth remembering for the explosiveness; Jones is worth holding for the usage. Nathan Carter's grind to the goal line, meanwhile, is a reminder that touchdown-dependent early-down roles are the least stable kind of fantasy asset in a preseason committee.
The more consequential storyline sits on the Indianapolis side, where Anthony Richardson's rough passing line intersects with a genuinely open quarterback competition. The number itself does not decide Week 1, but it does raise the risk attached to his draft price, because a quarterback who cannot separate in August is one bad September away from a bench seat, and a benched quarterback takes his rushing upside and his pass catchers' ceiling down with him. If you are drafting Richardson, do it understanding that the floor is lower than the highlight-reel athleticism suggests, and keep an eye on how the Colts split first-team reps before the opener. Everything else in this blowout is backup-versus-backup noise that says nothing about either team's real Week 1 outlook.
Tyler Goodson's per-carry burst and Cash Jones' dual-threat usage are the real fantasy-relevant signals from this blowout. Check the best ball tool to see how Atlanta's backfield is currently valued, and run Indianapolis's quarterback situation through the mock draft simulator if Richardson's rough outing has you second-guessing his ADP. Full box score: ESPN.
