ATLANTA – Michael Penix Jr. looked like an NFL veteran in his first professional start, but not as much as he sounded when he took the podium after the game.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was at a local Costco store Tuesday night when head coach Raheem Morris told him he would be making his first NFL start. After leading the Falcons to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants in that start, Penix was asked if he would celebrate the win at Costco on Sunday night.
“No, hopefully something nicer,” Penix said. “Costco is great though. Costco, give me a call.”
If the Falcons (8-7) continue to play as they did on Sunday, Penix may receive a sponsorship offer from the company, which would mean replacing Kirk Cousins to become Atlanta’s Kirkland quarterback and pitch Costco’s signature product line.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the team responded, it really got behind a young man,” Morris said. “He went out and played pretty much flawless football and helped us get the win.”
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Tampa Bay’s loss to Dallas on Sunday night put the Falcons back in control of the NFC South. If they win their last two games, at Washington and at home against Carolina, they will host a playoff game.
The Falcons’ victory margin of 27 points was their second-largest since the 2016 Super Bowl season, and they have now topped seven wins in a season for the first time since the 10-win season in 2017. The Giants (2-13) lost their 10th straight, the longest losing streak in franchise history.
“You do feel (nerves), but as soon as I step on the field, it goes away,” Penix said. “It’s the game I’ve been playing since I was five years old. It’s a higher level, but it’s the same game.”
The Falcons drafted Penix eighth overall in April with the intention of putting him in college a year or more behind Cousins, but Cousins’ most recent five games convinced them to accelerate that timeline.
“The plan came a little early, but the child was ready,” Morris said. “We had a lot of time to develop him, and the kid himself did a great job of preparing for a time when it wasn’t too big.”
Cousins swallowed the sting of being benched less than a year after signing a four-year, $180 million contract to guide Penix during the week, Penix said. In the tunnel before the pair went for a warm-up jog, Cousins said his weekly prayer and patted Penix on the back, gently nudging him to jog ahead of him.
“Kirk has been great all week, just being there for me and anything I needed help with. He is a great leader and a great teammate,” Penix said. “He came off the sideline and asked me what I saw, and he kept cheering me on the whole game.”
And with a pat on the back from Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr. for the Atlanta Falcons. pic.twitter.com/xisQiO0SyR
— Josh Kendall (@JoshTheAthletic) December 22, 2024
Penix finished 18-for-27 for 202 yards and one interception on a ball that bounced out of the hands of tight end Kyle Pitts near the goal line. The quarterback was the victim of three drops, including on his first throw of the game. Dropping his passes wasn’t rare during his early practices because of his strong arm, but Penix has made great strides in throwing a more catchable ball, said wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who led the Falcons with five catches for 82 yards and then told reporters they might not want to stand too close to him in the locker room because he wasn’t feeling well.
“When he first came here, he was (too excited) to throw the ball and everyone was dropping the ball everywhere,” Mooney said. “Now he’s just chilling, and he’s got something to do with him.”
Sunday’s drops didn’t faze Penix, running back Bijan Robinson said.
“After Kyle’s play he said, ‘We’re doing good,’” Robinson said. “A lot of guys would have put their heads down, but he said, ‘We’re good, we’ll get it right back on the next drive,’ and that’s what he did.”
Robinson carried the ball 22 times for 94 yards and is fourth in the league in rushing (1,196 yards). He ran for two touchdowns, but was upset that he didn’t get a score because he tripped on a swing pass in front of the goal line. Robinson returned to the huddle and apologized to Penix for not giving him his first NFL passing touchdown.
“I told him, ‘It’s all good, man. We won the football game,” Penix said. “That just shows the person he is, not just him, but everyone on this team, the character. He talked about me getting my first touchdown, but it will come. The most important thing we want to do every week is win. We did that.”
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Atlanta’s defense had nothing to apologize for after returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1983. Jessie Bates III jumped in front of a Drew Lock pass and returned it 55 yards in the second quarter, then celebrated with Deion Sanders’ “Prime Time” dance. He said his inspiration was the antique red helmets Atlanta wore on Sunday.
“Something about these red helmets,” Bates said.
In the third quarter, defensive lineman Matthew Judon recorded the first interception and first touchdown of his nine-year career when he found himself snagging a pass from Zach Harrison and rumbling 27 yards into the end zone.
“I just looked up and it fell right there. All glory to God,” said Judon, who became the first Falcon since Kroy Biermann in 2011 to have a pick six and a sack in the same game. “I’m really grateful. I kept thanking Zach the whole time in the locker room until he left.
The Falcons also recorded three sacks, one of which resulted in a fumble recovered by Arnold Ebiketie.
Penix, however, was the story of the day. Simply by providing a stabilizing element at the position, he gave the Falcons hope for their playoff push. His coaches and teammates said they never really doubted the 24-year-old would do that.
The Falcons have reorganized the “Mamba” periods they’ve been using in practice this year, pitting each team’s starters against each other in competitive situations to give Penix some looks he hadn’t seen enough of yet, but otherwise their routine did not change. all of them, Morris said.
“I think the guy is just a mature adult who came in with a lot of football experience,” the coach said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the young man. It was fun to watch.”
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)