ATLANTA -- At least Aaron Rodgers survived.

And even that was in doubt for a moment on Sunday night in Atlanta.

What did anyone expect when the Green Bay Packers quarterback had to play without his two starting offensive tackles? Rodgers absorbed a couple of hard hits, including one from Falcons outside linebacker Vic Beasley just as Rodgers threw a backward pass, ultimately ruled a fumble, that was returned for a touchdown.

That’s no excuse for what happened to the Packers' defense in the 34-23 loss.

The first game in Atlanta’s new digs, the $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, looked like a replay of January’s NFC Championship Game played next door at the old Georgia Dome. Julio Jones romped through the secondary, and Matt Ryan picked it apart -- with the emphasis on pick.

Devonta Freeman rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns against an overmatched Packers defense. AP Photo/David Goldman

A couple of controversial calls -- and non-calls on pick plays -- infuriated Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing with referee Walt Anderson about what he thought was an illegal block by Falcons tight end Austin Hooper on Ryan’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Tevin Coleman in the second quarter. On the Packers’ previous possession, a similar block by Martellus Bennett was flagged for offensive pass interference, wiping out a 36-yard completion to Randall Cobb. Later, Cobb had a touchdown called back because of the same infraction by fellow receiver Geronimo Allison.

Perhaps McCarthy should turn his ire toward his defense, which once again let down the Packers (1-1) against the Falcons (2-0). For the third straight time in the past 11 months, the Falcons went over the 30-point mark -- although at least this time, seven of them came courtesy of Atlanta’s defense.

There were some individual moments on defense, including 1.5 sacks by Clay Matthews and a solid showing by rookie cornerback Kevin King in his first extended regular-season playing time.

But collectively, the Packers still didn’t look fast enough to keep up with the Falcons, at least not on turf.

"The turnover ratio, they definitely won that," McCarthy said. "Big-play production, Atlanta was in their favor there. Defensively, just not getting the stops. But our guys had a lot of grit. They battled back. A lot of injuries."

Ryan had 201 yards passing ... by halftime. Jones had 94 yards receiving ... by halftime. Ryan finished with only 252 and Jones with 108, but the damage was already done.

When asked what makes the Falcons offense so good, Packers cornerback Davon House rattled off the jersey numbers of Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Ryan and Devonta Freeman.

"Eleven, 12 and 2 and 24," House said. "Julio’s the best in the game. Matt’s one of the best. Devonta is upcoming, he’s the next Maurice-Jones Drew. They’re good."

In their previous eight road games before Sunday, including playoffs, the Packers allowed 32.6 points per game. The only time they gave up fewer than 24 was to a rookie quarterback, Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz.

While some players in the visitor's locker room felt they've closed the gap on the Falcons since the 44-21 loss in the NFC title game, receiver Randall Cobb put it more bluntly.

"No, we didn’t win," Cobb said. "They played really well. They did what they needed to do. They took advantage in certain situations and made the plays that they needed to do to win."

The Packers would love to get the Falcons back at Lambeau Field in the playoffs, but their defense will have to play more like it did in last week’s opening win over the Seahawks than it did against Ryan & Co. for them to gain home-field advantage.

Otherwise, a potential postseason matchup might look like more of the same, even if the Packers have starting tackles Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari on the field for it.