Note: Our weekly offering of nine items on the Falcons at 9 a.m. every Wednesday.
1. The no-spin zone: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Michael Penix Jr. if he was ready to play in case of an emergency.
“I’m always ready,” Penix said. “I have to be because you never know when that time will come. I’m going to stay ready.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris was pretty clear about sticking with a slumping Kirk Cousins after his four-interception performance Sunday against the Chargers.
Cousins did pop up on the injury report for one day with a shoulder injury. He has thrown six interceptions and no touchdown passes over the past three games.
Cousins, who was sacked three times and hit nine times in the 20-17 loss to the Saints on Nov. 10, was listed on the team’s lengthy injury report Nov. 14.
Before getting pulled in the 38-6 loss to the Broncos on Nov. 17, Cousins was sacked four times and hit six more times.
After a week off for the bye, Cousins was sacked once and hit four times against the Chargers.
Penix expects Cousins to be ready to go when the Falcons face his former team, the Vikings, on Sunday.
“He’s a vet,” Penix said. “He’s been in a lot of different situations. I have no doubt he’s going to bounce back from this. He’s going to be great this week and for the rest of the season.”
Penix, who was drafted with the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft this year, has played sparingly in two games. He is playing a supporting role for Cousins.
“For me, it’s just encouraging, telling him what I see base on the sideline,” Penix said. “Same thing with all of the other coaches, we all sit together and watch the film. We talk about what we see. We do that each and every week.
“Being there for him, being there to support him. We’re both on the same team. We both want to win football games, that’s what it is about at the end of the day.”
Penix has been running the opposition’s offense and getting very little work running the Falcons’ offense. He has to work through the game plan.
“It’s a lot of mental reps,” Penix said. “You can sit on the sideline, or I sit behind the play, and I just watch the play out in my head the best that I can. I don’t have rushers coming at me and having to move in the pocket and stuff like that, but as far as repeating the play, going through my reads, throughout the play, seeing what I would do in pressure situations, passing-down situations. That’s the best way you can do it, mental reps.”
So, what if he had to play.
“I’m ready,” Penix said. “I have to be because you never know when the opportunity will come. So, I always stay ready. It’s not up to me. I just have to continue to be ready. Continue to stay ready for that moment, whenever that is.”
Penix compares his current plight with being a freshman in college.
“Everybody wants to play, it doesn’t matter how old you are you want to be on that field,” Penix said. “But at the end of the day, I embrace my role. I knew coming into here what my role (would) be. I’m just trying to be the best to help this team win football games.”
Penix believes that he’s improving while working with the scout-team offense.
“There’s a lot that I’ve learned since college since I’ve been here,” Penix said. “I always say to myself that one day I’m going to be a high school coach. I feel like I’ll be the best coach ever, knowing what I know now.
“I wish I knew what I know now, back then. It’s all about maturing and growing up in the game. I feel like I’ve been doing a good job with that. Just trying to continue to push myself to be great in everything that I do. I feel like I’m increasing … getting better.”
Penix said the length of the season has surprised him.
“I’m just staying in the moment,” Penix said. “Staying focus. Just coming in here and being the same guy every day.”
Penix knows that this will be a tough week for Cousins with the Falcons set to play his former team.
“I just say stay true to yourself,” Penix said. “I know Kirk will. He knows the guy that he is. He’s knows the work that he put in each and every day. That’s what I would say (and what) I would do in that position. That’s what he’s doing. He takes accountability for everything. He always take accountability. He never points fingers. He’s just a first-class guy.”
The Falcons are expecting Cousins to handle the reunion with ease.
“He’s a pro,” wide receiver Darnell Mooney said. “I think it’ll put some fire under him to go back ... and make some plays. It’s a good story for everybody to help him win that game.”
Penix and Cousins are neighbors and ride to the airport together. They don’t play music. They just talk about the playbook.
2. Sacks are important: Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie led the Falcons pass rush with two sacks and two quarterback hits against the Chargers.
“It felt good just to have a complete game on defense,” Ebiketie told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Obviously, getting those sacks, it’s encouraging. We have five guaranteed games left. That’s kind of what we are trying to do moving forward. … We want to stay on the same track. We see what it does for our defense, pushing the offense back. Sacks are definitely important.”
Ebiketie believes the newfound pass-rush is sustainable.
“It should be sustainable moving forward,” Ebiketie said. “We want to be a consistent as we possibly can. Not just being on and off … the goal is to try to be consistent. Trying to do it week-in and week-out.”
3. Red-zone woes: The Falcons were 1-of-4 in the red zone against the Chargers.
“I think everybody collectively had a part in it,” Falcons wide receiver Drake London said. “I take fault in it as well. I’m always going to try to put the blame on me. If I feel like I could have done something better, been more detailed or whatever it might have been. ... From my personal point of view, I could have done better.”
4. Coaching buddies: Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell was the Rams offensive coordinator when they won Super Bowl LVI over the Bengals. Falcons coach Raheem Morris was the defensive coordinator.
O’Connell landed the Vikings’ job in 2022 and Morris is in his first-year with the Falcons.
“Heck of a challenge with Atlanta coming in,” O’Connell said to Minnesota media members Monday. “I’ve got a ton of respect for Raheem. Very few coaches I respect as much as Raheem Morris. Got a chance to coach with him, (got) to know him. Love the person. A dynamic leader. I know he’s going to have his football team ready to go. Kirk (Cousins) and all of those weapons that we’ve got to try to defend on offense is going to be a challenge.”
Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson also spent two seasons with O’Connell.
5. Darnold is slinging it: The Vikings drafted former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick this year, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in an exhibition game in August. Sam Darnold, the former third overall pick by the Jets in 2018, has resurrected his career after spending a season with the 49ers.
Darnold has completed 242 of 358 passes (67.6%) for 2,952 yards, a career-high 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has a passer rating of 102.6.
“He’s throwing the ball at an incredibly high level — accuracy, perfect amount of pace, layering the ball (and) pushing it downfield when we try to,” O’Connell said.
Running back Aaron Jones Sr. is the Vikings’ primary running back. He has rushed 184 times for 820 yards and three touchdowns. He had two fumbles early against the Cardinals on Sunday, but helped them rally to victory.
Wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are Darnold’s top targets.
Jefferson has caught 68 passes for 1,038 yards and five touchdowns. Addison has 36 catches for 575 yards and four touchdowns.
“Justin Jefferson is a marvelous football player,” Morris said. “Aaron Jones has been a marvelous football player and continues to be. We’ve got our hands full. We’ve got to go out there and get ready to play. They got a bunch of good players.”
The Vikings are averaging 24.7 points per game, which ranks ninth in the league. Overall, they average 344.6 yards per game, 13th in the league.
“You’ve got a bunch of guys up there,” Morris said. “They’ve got Cam Akers (who’s) backing up (Jones). They’ve got a bunch of guys on offense. They’ve got some really good weapons, and they’ve got good coaches (who) know how to use them.”
6. Flores’ blitz packages: The Vikings’ defense is guided by coordinator Brian Flores.
With his blitz schemes, the Vikings have amassed 38 sacks. Jonathan Greenard, who played at Hiram High School, leads the way with 10 sacks. Andrew Van Grinkel has nine sacks, and Pat Jones II has seven.
“They play at a Pro Bowl level, particularly (safety) Harrison (Smith), (Stephon) Gilmore’s out there playing corner at a high level,” Morris said. “‘B-Flo’ (Flores), he has a way, he has a system. It’s devised with smart football players, being able to go out there and have total understanding. Van Ginkel, seems like he makes a play every single week on (ESPN’s) ‘SportsCenter.’”
Gilmore suffered a low-grade hamstring injury against the Cardinals.
7. Series history: This will be the 32nd meeting. The Vikings lead the series 20-11. The Vikings won the last meeting 31-28 last season when Joshua Dobbs tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Powell in the final minute of the game Nov. 5, 2023.
8. Where to watch, listen, livestream Falcons at Vikings: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Falcons (6-6) and Vikings (10-2), which is set for 1 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
TV: Fox. Play-by-play: Joe Davis. Analyst: Greg Olsen. Reporter: Pam Oliver.
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Jake Cook. Pregame/Postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson. Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain (studio producers). Dylan Matthews (network studio producer) and Chris Thomas (local studio producer).
National radio: Compass. Play-by-Play: Chris Carrino. Analyst: Brian Baldinger.
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 384 and 801. Vikings 229 and 820 and on the App.
Livestream: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International. There are several other subscription services.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official 53-man depth chart heading into Sunday’s game:
OFFENSE
QB: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
RB: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Jase McClellan
WR: Drake London, KhaDarel Hodge
WR: Darnell Mooney, Casey Washington
SWR: Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge
TE: Kyle Pitts
TE: Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley
LT: Jake Matthews, Brandon Parker
LG: Matthew Bergeron, Kyle Hinton, Elijah Wilkinson
C: Drew Dalman, Ryan Neuzil
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT: Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton
DEFENSE
ROLB: Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone, Demone Harris
DE: Grady Jarrett, Zach Harrison
NT: Eddie Goldman, Kentavious Street
DE: David Onyemata, Brandon Dorlus
LOLB: Matthew Judon, Arnold Ebitketie
IL: Kaden Elliss, JD Bertrand, Rashaan Evans
ILB: Nate Landman, Troy Andersen
LCB: A.J. Terrell, Kevin King, Natrone Brooks
RCB: Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III
NCB: Dee Alford, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
SS: Justin Simmons, Richie Grant
FS: Jessie Bates III
Special teams
K: Younghoe Koo
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Liam McCullough
KR: Avery Williams, Ray-Ray McCloud
PR: Avery Williams, Mike Hughes
