The Atlanta Falcons have finally announced Michael Penix Jr.‘s return from his ACL injury as their QB1. Speculation ran high over whether Penix Jr. would play a short week on Thursday Night Football in Green Bay or if the wait for competent quarterback play would be longer.
After two weeks of subpar play from third-string veteran quarterback Cooper Rush and the feeding of undrafted free agent rookie Jack Strand to the wolves led to a 0-2 start, Atlanta Falcons fans—and presumably the coaching staff— have had their wish granted, but what is Penix Jr. returning to?
The new coaching staff hasn’t shown promise this early in the season, and the team seems to be going backward. Yes, the quarterback play has been subpar, but the offensive line has done them little to no favors. In the first game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the offensive line had a bad day, with pre-snap penalties that stalled promising drives and gave superstar running back Bijan Robinson little chance to break out. Both running backs fumbled the ball (recovered by Atlanta), the newly acquired Nick Folk missed two field goals that would’ve given the Falcons a 16-13 lead, and a special teams penalty erased a nice kick return from rookie Zachariah Branch.
The home opener against the Carolina Panthers created questions about the coach’s decision-making. After Rush fumbled within the first thirty seconds of the game, the coaching staff went for a 4th and 1 early, despite the offensive line being unable to get any push at the line of scrimmage. Calling a wide receiver jet sweep for Drake London that was predictably unsuccessful caused a drive that should’ve ended with three points to end with none and turn the ball over on downs.
Penix Jr. has to improve a lot this season. He’s shown he has a cannon for an arm and isn’t afraid to air it out, but that hasn’t come without flaws. His touch on the ball, accuracy, willingness to run, and pocket and play-clock awareness must improve. He has to prove that he can add the other necessary quarterback abilities to his big arm to be the franchise quarterback Atlanta desperately needs. The clock starts with his first start on Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime.
