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On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Falcons picked up their eighth win of the season with a 34-7 home demolition of the New York Giants. This game marked the first career start for quarterback Michael Penix Jr., whom the Falcons selected eighth overall in this past NFL Draft and was recently moved up the depth chart over the struggling Kirk Cousins.
Penix Jr. played well on Sunday vs the Giants, completing 18 out of his 27 pass attempts for 202 yards. The one interception he threw was largely a product of a drop from tight end Kyle Pitts.
After the game, head coach Raheem Morris spoke on what he saw out of Penix Jr. on the afternoon.
“The plan came a little bit sooner, but the kid was ready.” Morris said, per Tori McElhaney on X, describing Penix Jr.'s play as “near flawless football.”
Morris also broke down why the Falcons were so thankful that Penix Jr. was ready to step up to the challenge.
“I would say it's gratifying to us as an organization,” said Morris, per Terrin Waack.
A good start for Michael Penix Jr.
It's not often that a rookie quarterback is asked to make his first career start for a team that's in the middle of a tight playoff race and facing a must-win situation every time they step on the field.
However, that was exactly the scenario Michael Penix Jr. found himself in when Raheem Morris inserted him into the starting lineup this week over Kirk Cousins, who had struggled mightily since early November.
It should be noted that if a quarterback were to find themselves in that situation, there probably isn't a more favorable opponent to be playing against than the Giants, who were already on a nine-game losing streak and lost some more key pieces on the defensive end of the ball during the game on Sunday.
Still, you can only play who's in front of you, and Penix Jr. showed excellent decision making skills as well as the downfield accuracy that allowed him to be a top ten pick this past April, despite working against some brutal drops from Atlanta's wide receivers.
In any case, the Falcons will next take the field on Sunday evening for a road game against the Washington Commanders. That game is slated to get underway at 8:20 PM ET from Landover.
