The Atlanta Falcons were hoping to avoid an 0-2 start against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football, and accomplished exactly what they set out to do. The defense and run game were two of the red flags in Week 1's loss, but that's where most of the heavy lifting was done for the Dirty Birds in the 22-6 victory.
However, Penix still completed 13 of 21 passes for 135 passing yards and no touchdowns. The Washington product followed up an incredible Week 1 with a respectable Week 2 which saw him improve to 2-0 on prime time despite not lighting up the stat sheet.
Week 2 made it seem like Atlanta was robbed of a win against the Buccaneers, and only affirmed the belief that Penix is the future. Here are three takeaways from his Week 2 performance.
3 takeaways from Michael Penix Jr's Week 2 performance
1. Red zone efficiency has to be better
On the bright side, the Falcons came away with points on all six of their red zone drives, but still left meat on the bone. Five of those drives resulted in John Parker Romo field goals, while only Atlanta's final offensive drive ended with a Tyler Allgeier rushing touchdown
The 25-year-old had a few bad miscues on Sunday night. A fourth down delay of game on the team's opening drive forced Raheem Morris to bring out the field goal unit, while the connections with Drake London and Darnell Mooney didn't flash.
Either way, he fared pretty well against a strong (and depleted) defense, but those red zone woes will certainly dissipate against the Panthers' porous defense.
2. He looked better than the numbers indicated
The Falcons ran the ball 39 times for 218 yards in Minneapolis, which was impressive. The expectation was that Penix would have to take to the air to win this game, which quickly proved not to be true.
Bijan Robinson recorded 47 of his 143 rushing yards on the opening drive, and he and Allgeier shined on the road. But even on 21 pass attempts, Penix still made some impressive throws to London and Kyle Pitts.
His quick release and arm strength were lauded by Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth throughout the night, and for good reason. Even when he isn't asked to do a lot, the second-year man always performs.
3. Revenge is a dish best served cold
The largest storyline entering Sunday Night Football was the revenge matchup between Penix and J.J. McCarthy—who faced off against one another in the 2023 College Football National Championship. In that game, McCarthy and Michigan got the better of Penix and the Huskies, prevailing 34-13.
However, Sunday night told a different story. While McCarthy got the glory in college, Penix and the Falcons managed to spoil the rookie's first career start at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The 22-year-old threw for more yards than Penix, but he also threw two interceptions and fumbled as the Falcons defense recorded six sacks and four takeaways. After McCarthy pulled off a miraculous fourth quarter comeback in Week 1 against the Bears, Atlanta's young defense ensured that they would not suffer the same fate, embarrassing 2024's No. 10 overall pick for all of America to see.