Penix completed 21 of 38 passes for 312 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and rushed once for a five-yard touchdown in the Falcons' 44-38 overtime loss to the Panthers on Sunday. The rookie signal-caller did his best to try to get the win the Falcons needed to remain in play for a playoff spot, a matter that was rendered moot when the Buccaneers were able to squeak past the Saints in a game being played concurrently. It was still an encouraging showing for Penix, however, who eclipsed the 300-yard mark and threw multiple touchdown passes for the first time as a pro. Penix connected with Drake London from 20 and 21 yards out for his pair of scoring tosses, but he never had a chance to possess the ball in overtime since the Panthers drove down for a game-winning touchdown. Penix got some invaluable experience over the final three games of the regular season and is indisputably entrenched as the Falcons' quarterback heading into the offseason.
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Penix completed 21 of 38 passes for 312 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and rushed once for a five-yard touchdown in the Falcons' 44-38 overtime loss to the Panthers on Sunday. The rookie signal-caller did his best to try to get the win the Falcons needed to remain in play for a playoff spot, a matter that was rendered moot when the Buccaneers were able to squeak past the Saints in a game being played concurrently. It was still an encouraging showing for Penix, however, who eclipsed the 300-yard mark and threw multiple touchdown passes for the first time as a pro. Penix connected with Drake London from 20 and 21 yards out for his pair of scoring tosses, but he never had a chance to possess the ball in overtime since the Panthers drove down for a game-winning touchdown. Penix got some invaluable experience over the final three games of the regular season and is indisputably entrenched as the Falcons' quarterback heading into the offseason.
Penix completed 19 of 35 pass attempts for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing for three yards on two attempts in Sunday's 30-24 overtime loss to the Commanders. Penix offered mixed fantasy results in Sunday's narrow defeat, throwing his second interception while converting his first touchdown pass as a pro in the overtime loss to Washington. The Falcons opted to switch to the 2024 first-round pick after veteran Kirk Cousins couldn't lead the team to an elevated level of success in 2024. Penix figures to start again for Atlanta in a game the team must win to have a chance of making the playoffs in next Sunday's regular-season finale against Carolina in Week 18.
Penix completed 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards and an interception in Sunday's 34-7 win over the Giants. He added three rushing yards on four carries. Making his first NFL start, Penix mainly tried to minimize his mistakes as Bijan Robinson and the Falcons' defense each supplied two touchdowns in the rout. The rookie quarterback's longest completion went for only 22 yards, and while he has the arm strength to stretch the field, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will likely limit Penix to short, high-percentage looks while Atlanta is still hunting for a playoff spot. The eighth overall pick in the 2024 Draft will face a tougher opponent in a Week 17 clash with the Commanders.
The Falcons announced Tuesday that Penix will be the team's starting quarterback moving forward. A change at quarterback in Atlanta had been brewing since head coach Raheem Morris expressed frustration over Kirk Cousins' performance following Monday's 15-9 win over the Raiders. Cousins has been struggling over the Falcons' past five games, posting a 1:9 TD:INT while the team has gone 1-4. Penix has gotten into just two games this season, completing three of five passes for 38 yards after being drafted eighth overall in April's NFL Draft. The Washington product was always going to be the Falcons' quarterback of the future given his lofty draft selection, but his time to shine is coming sooner than expected, as Cousins was slated to lead the team this season after signing a four-year, $180-million contract in March. Atlanta is currently 7-7 and one game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South, so Penix will be playing with the aim of leading the team into the postseason. His first start will come in a soft matchup Sunday versus the 2-12 Giants.
Head coach Raheem Morris said Monday that Penix will remain the backup to starting quarterback Kirk Cousins in the Falcons' Week 15 game in Las Vegas next Monday, Terrin Waack of the team's official site reports. "Kirk is our quarterback. Kirk is still going to lead us," Morris said. Atlanta has dropped four straight games to fall to 6-7 on the season, and Cousins' ongoing struggles have led to more discussion about a changing of the guard under center. In those four losses, Cousins has completed just 62.4 percent of his passes for 7.6 yards per attempt and a 0:8 TD:INT while also taking eight sacks and fumbling four times (losing none). Cousins' track record and sizable contract looks as though it'll be enough for him to stick atop the depth chart, but another poor showing against a reeling Raiders squad could prompt the Falcons to turn the job over to Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in April's draft. Penix has made just two brief mop-up appearances through the first 14 weeks of the regular season but looked composed during his lone preseason outing, completing nine of 16 pass attempts for 104 yards.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris was emphatic that he would not swap in Penix for the struggling Kirk Cousins, Jay Glazer from Fox NFL Sunday reports. Peter Schrager earlier reported that Penix didn't take any snaps with the starting offense in practice this week, instead exclusively working with the scout team.
Penix completed his only pass attempt for 14 yards during Sunday's 34-14 loss to the Seahawks. With the game out of hand, Penix made his NFL regular-season debut. He played seven offensive snaps and completed his only pass to fellow rookie Casey Washington. Despite Sunday's dud, Kirk Cousins has fully shaken off the early-season rust and revitalized Atlanta's offense, so Penix is relegated to backup duties for the foreseeable future.
Penix is expected to be held out of Atlanta's final exhibition game against Jacksonville on Friday, Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reports. Penix didn't play in the Falcons' second preseason contest versus Baltimore on Saturday and won't suit up for the team's final exhibition contest either. Head coach Raheem Morris explained that the team feels it "saw enough last week [in Atlanta's preseason opener] of him and the live stuff," adding that "[Penix] showed us last week enough that we don't have to play him in the preseason." The rookie QB completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions against Miami in Atlanta's first game of the preseason and is slated to open the regular season as the team's backup behind Kirk Cousins.
Coach Raheem Morris said Penix showed enough in his preseason debut last week that the Falcons didn't feel the need to play him against the Ravens on Saturday, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports. This was a surprising decision given that Penix is a first-round-pick and expected to ride the pine once the regular season starts, but it perhaps makes more sense in light of the Falcons holding out other highly regarded backups. Both Baltimore and Atlanta largely used Saturday's exhibition to evaluate players at the bottom of the roster or on the wrong side of the bubble, leaving Penix and many others to watch in street clothes. Penix completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards the previous week in a preseason loss to Miami.