Michael Penix Jr. earned a blowout win in his first career start as two pick-sixes from the Atlanta Falcons defense and steady play from the rookie quarterback led to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants.
"He went out and played almost flawless football," coach Raheem Morris said, via the Associated Press. "He kept the game really clean."
The stats won't jump off the page, and box-score watchers will point to an interception on Penix's ledger to rebut Morris' "almost flawless" comment. But the INT was not at all on the QB, with Kyle Pitts flubbing a perfect pass directly into a defender's hands. The rookie signal-caller finished 18-of-27 passing for 202 yards, zero touchdowns and an INT. With the blowout in hand, Penix didn't need to stack stats late as the Falcons scored 34 unanswered points against the hapless Giants.
Before Penix's debut, the last rookie QB drafted in the first round to make his first start in one of his team's final three games of a season was Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
"It's the game I've been playing since I was five years old," Penix said. "Obviously it's different, it's at a higher level, but you know it's the same game. I've just got to go out there and execute. Once we hit the field, I was good."
The 24-year-old rookie who made 45 starts in college came out rifling. He made confident throws from the jump, showing off his strong arm, lasering balls -- even if ATL receivers dropped a couple early. His first pass, the rookie got crunched and delivered a rope that Ray-Ray McCloud couldn't hang onto. The pop from his passes was notable, and his pocket mobility compared to that of Kirk Cousins aided a Falcons offense stuck in the mud.
With the offense in a rut due to an immobile quarterback who'd seemingly lost some of his confidence, Morris made the move to the rookie. Penix immediately relieved some of the issues that plagued the Falcons, who had seemingly been playing in a glass case.
In his first NFL start, Penix was aggressive downfield in the first half, throwing over 10 air yards on 43.8% of his attempts, almost 10% more often than Cousins (34.5%), per Next Gen Stats. The rookie also didn't take a sack despite being pressured 14 times.
"The plan came a little bit sooner," Morris said of making the move to Penix. "But the kid was ready and we had a lot of time to develop him. The kid did a great job himself developing himself, to get ready for that moment where it wasn't too big. I was really proud and pleased with the effort."
Regardless of the circumstances that brought both Cousins and Penix to ATL in 2024, that's the past. The future is ahead with a rookie quarterback who has a chance to put the Falcons into the postseason.
"I don't know if it's a sense of relief but being able to go watch him execute during the game, I knew we created the situations in practice to make it tough on him," Morris said. "... But just to watch him go do it, it was more fun to watch than actual relief. It wasn't relief. For me, it was a sense of pride."
Sunday's coasting victory, coupled with Tampa Bay's loss in Dallas, allowed Atlanta to retake the NFC South lead with two games to go -- at Washington, versus Carolina. The Falcons are in the driver's seat, and the rookie is at the wheel. Buckle up.
