FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will have to wait a few days to see if Santa Claus will deliver his Christmas gift or leave him with lump of coal.
“We’re looking for a Falcons win,” Penix said when asked what he wanted for Christmas.
The Falcons (8-7) are set to face the Commanders (10-5) at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, in a game with NFC playoff implications for both teams. Both teams are still in the hunt for their respective division titles — South and East.
Penix Jr. is coming off his first NFL start, a 34-7 win over the Giants on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“The game is fun,” Penix said when asked what he learned from his first start. “The game is fun.”
Penix, after a spectacular college career that included time at Indiana and Washington, was selected eighth overall by the Falcons in the NFL draft this year. The move shocked some because the Falcons had signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a lucrative four-year deal with $100 million guaranteed in free agency.
Cousins had the Falcons off to a 6-3 record, but he went into a slump along the same time as kicker Younghoe Koo. The Falcons lost four consecutive games, including against the Saints when Koo, who was battling a right hip injury, missed three field-goal attempts, and against the Chargers when Cousins tossed four interceptions.
With the season slipping away, first-year coach Raheem Morris handed the ball over to his rookie quarterback, who had played in only two games at mop-up time.
The bold move paid off as the Falcons won and the Bucs lost to the Cowboys, to put the Falcons back in a tie for first place in the NFC South. The Falcons have the tiebreaker over the Bucs.
“I’ve seen this quote (from Browns quarterback) Jameis Winston after he got hurt. ... He loved football, but he said what he really loved was playing football.” Penix said. “A lot of people laughed at it, but they didn’t understand.”
Basically, there’s nothing like getting on the field.
“But, as somebody that’s been injured, been in times where I had to sit out, not just being a backup, but actually having to sit out because of injury, I get what he’s saying,” Penix said. “It was fun to be out there, fun to be able to compete with the rest of my brothers.”
Penix completed 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards, no touchdowns and an interception off Kyle Pitts’ bobbled catch attempt. He finished with a passer rating of 73.4. Penix had four of his passes dropped by the receivers he started working with the previous week.
The Falcons promoted Chris Blair, his top receiver from the scout team, to perhaps make Penix more comfortable Sunday. Blair caught his only target for 17 yards.
The Falcons were pleased with Penix’s performance.
“I thought he played a really clean game,” Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “The operation was really clean all throughout the game.”
Penix is left-handed, and the ball spins differently. Also, he has a powerful arm and throws a hotter pass. Receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney had concerns about the adjustments they’d have to make.
They also had to spend some time after practice working on looking into their hands the differently spinning ball.
“The guys had a really good week of practice,” Robinson said. “And it’s no secret that practice performance equals game reality. He did a great job handling the week of practice, the preparation, all those things that led up to the game, but played a really clean game, threw the ball accurately, got the ball where it was supposed to go. It was a really good performance for the first time out.”
Penix is preparing for an encore performance in a highly pressurized, high-leverage situation.
“I’ll be taking it one game at a time, one day at a time,” Penix said. “Just making sure I’m locked in on everything I need to be focused on. It’s just whatever I can do to help this team win football games. Each and every day, just putting in that work so that when it comes to game day, we can go out there and execute.”
Penix guided the Falcons to four scoring drives — two touchdowns and two field goals. There was also a missed field-goal attempt by new kicker Riley Patterson.
If the Falcons can’t slow the Commanders’ high-scoring offense (28.8 points per game, fourth in the league), Penix could find himself in his first NFL shootout. He believes he’s getting more comfortable.
“Reps, being out there on the field, it definitely helps you be more comfortable in the game, just adapting to the speed and adjusting on the fly,” Penix said. “Each and every day, I get more comfortable, since day one. So, it’s continued to grow.”
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