The Atlanta Falcons were defeated in their Week 1 showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon by a score of 20-13 under some of the most difficult circumstances a team can deal with.

All offseason long, the narrative was about who would start the first game of the season at quarterback only for Tua Tagovailoa to temporarily win the job and be ruled out the day before with an oblique issue. Veteran backup Cooper Rush stepped in and predictably, struggled mightily.

Even so, Atlanta was in the game until the end and had at least a respectable performance. T.J. Watt on defense was simply too much for Rush to handle and forced two turnovers completely on his own including a fourth quarter pick six which effectively put the game on ice.

With the Carolina Panthers coming to town next week though, the Falcons have some positives to build on.

While the ability to compete with Carolina -- who looked about the complete opposite defensively in Week 1 as Pittsburgh in a 59-37 loss to the Chicago Bears -- may depend on what quarterback looks like next week, but there were still positives to build on.

The defense did a really nice job against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense, not looking like they missed much of a step at pass rush despite injuries and suspensions there over the summer.

Unfortunately, reality may be that it won't be until Michael Penix Jr. feels he's ready that the team is really able to compete and beat quality opponents, but Penix could be back sooner rather than later.

An oblique issue for Tagovailoa makes it a complete mystery when he could actually be back, and if it's more than a week, it could wind up being Rush against to face the Panthers.

Bryce Young looked like he has taken a step for Carolina, and these divisional games are always tough no matter who winds up starting at quarterback for Atlanta. If the situation under center can get resolved sometime in the first month of the season, perhaps this team can compete.

As frustrating as Sunday was and nobody likes to lose, there were enough flashes to think this team should be far from a disaster this year.

The Kevin Stefanski era is underway, and despite the loss, there is some real promise here.