Michael Penix Jr. Prepared after 'Thrown Into the Fire' as Atlanta Falcons Rookie

The Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr 8th overall in the 2024 NFL draft and handed him the keys to the franchise before Week 16 after apprenticing behind big-ticket free agent Kirk Cousins for much of the season. 

Prior to that, he trained and practiced with the second string for the entirety of the 2024 season, but when Cousins had a string of bad games, Penix was thrust into the starting role on short notice. 

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That Week 16 matchup against the New York Giants was the first time he began taking snaps with the starters. The biggest difference for the second-year quarterback this year? Having a whole offseason of reps and being able to develop chemistry with the offense.

“Just the comfortability with the guys. You know the relationship I got with those guys, the starters, and you know the confidence that we’ve been building each and every day. Getting that connection to where we wanted to be,” Penix told CBS Sports in a sit-down interview after practice on Monday.

“So when it comes to game day (this season), it’s not like I just got thrown in the fire, and I just got the first couple reps with them [the offense], you know that the week of.”

Despite being “thrown into the fire” so to speak, for the last three weeks of the season, Penix still threw for 200 or more yards each game. He recorded eight big-time throws during this span, the second most in the NFL. 

A lot has been made of the left-handed quarterbacks' completion percentage. Penix completed just 58.1% of his passes during his three starts. Below league average, but also, as it has already been pointed out, he was thrust into the role without developing any chemistry or connections with his offense. 

When asked to simply shepherd the offense against an outmatched opponent, Penix had a 67% completion rate in the Falcons’ conservative game plan vs. the Giants.