Current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick sat down on Wednesday for a conversation centered around football, mentorship and the quarterback journey.
Vick asked Penix Jr. what it was like to sit behind Kirk Cousins for 14 games before finally getting to start the final three games of the season.
Penix Jr. said his biggest takeaways were all mental aspects. He would be sitting on the sidelines playing the game in his head the best he could, thinking of who he would be throwing the ball to in the situations he saw Cousins in. Those mental reps helped prepare Penix Jr. for when he finally took over as the starter.
"It was a lot of mental stuff that you take away from it... just thinking about who I would throw it to in those situations, but it just gave me a lot of confidence going in whenever I got in,” Penix Jr. said.
Penix Jr. finally got his first start in Week 16 against the New York Giants, after Cousins had a five-week stretch in which he threw one touchdown to nine interceptions. Penix Jr. threw for 200 yards and an interception in his debut in roughly three quarters of play, although the turnover was not his fault.
It was easy to see Penix Jr.'s confidence in the final two games of the season.
After an up-and-down game for about three quarters of play against the Commanders, Penix Jr. had a stellar fourth quarter. He led a game-tying touchdown drive where he converted two fourth downs, including the game-tying touchdown to Kyle Pitts. He also got the Falcons into field goal range with a chance to win the game, but kicker Riley Patterson missed, and Atlanta ended up losing in overtime.
"It's still just football," Penix Jr. told Vick about what he learned about playing in the NFL. "That's the biggest thing. That, once you get on the field, it's still football. Throw it to your team, don't throw it to the other team."
Week 18 was Penix Jr.'s best of the three games he started. He had 317 total yards (312 passing, 5 rushing) along with three total touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). He had seven big-time throws, leading to 38 points against the Panthers, though Atlanta would go on to lose in overtime.
It’s easy to see that Penix Jr. has been improving with each start, and it seems that he gained this confidence from being able to sit on the bench and dissect the game from the sidelines, instead of being thrown into the fire from the start.
"Obviously, being the guy is something you dream about," he said. "You got dreams of playing in the NFL. You got dreams of being drafted, but actually being on the field, being out there, knowing that you're the guy now, it's different."
