Dennis Allen exploited Michael Penix Jr.'s big red flag in Falcons' Week 6 loss

For as great as Michael Penix Jr. has been for the Atlanta Falcons this season, it would be a lie to say things have been perfect. Since his return, he's ignited this offense, but in last week's loss to the Ravens, we noticed a red flag that indicated opposing teams were about to figure this kid out.

Entering Week 6, Penix was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the NFL with a clean pocket (when not pressured) and one of the least efficient when facing pressure. His EPA per dropback when pressured was dead last among starters, and the Chicago Bears took advantage of that in Week 6.

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is familiar with the Falcons after spending a decade in New Orleans with the Saints (including three years as head coach). And while he never coached against Penix before getting fired, he came prepared due to Baltimore's model of making him uncomfortable.

Penix was pressured 22 times (per PFF) in the Falcons' 31-23 loss to the Bears on Sunday, which was the most pressure he's seen in a start this season. And he was also sacked six times, so it's safe to say whatever messages Allen drilled into his defense after the blowout loss to the Packers worked.

According to ESPN research, Michael Penix Jr. was pressured on a career-high 46% of his dropbacks in Week 6 and was blitzed at the second-highest rate of his career (51%) on Sunday, so just like Jesse Minter and the Ravens did last week, Dennis Allen and the Bears are helping the NFL figure him out.

The Bears' defense sent a lot of pressure Michael Penix Jr's way in Week 6

The more impressive part is what personnel Allen was working with, as Chicago was down their two top pass-rushers in Week 6. They were without Montez Sweat (suspension) and Dayo Odeyingbo (quad), as well as star LB T.J. Edwards, yet still overwhelmed this offensive line and swarmed Penix.

The reason for that is because the Bears got creative in the way they deployed their pass-rush and it got home. They weren't able to send the dogs with Austin Booker and Grady Jarrett leading things, so they dialed up a lot of DB blitzes, which led to CB Kyler Gordon recording three QB sacks on the day.

Of the 22 pressures of Penix Atlanta's offensive allowed, eight of them (36.4%) came from the secondary. Gordon had four, ex-Falcon Clark Phillips III logged three, and Dillon Thieneman had one.

That's sort of the issue with the system the Dirty Birds run. The offensive line can't handle the extra bodies in pass protection or run blocking, so blitzing counteracts their supposed dominance at the line of scrimmage, and that's the reason Allen and other DCs are starting to stifle Penix's rhythm .

Even on the final possession of the game, the Bears only notched a strip sack because Jawaan Taylor got beat off the blitz. Even in the fourth quarter, when the 26-year-old supposedly got better against the blitz, it was after Chicago took out their starters, so of course he stood tall against third-string DL.

While the former top-10 pick still delivered a quality stat line and made some beautiful throws in the game, this is becoming a difficult issue to ignore. He needs to become more consistent in the face of pressure, because if this what the Bears will do while blitzing him, what will a team like the Vikings do?

Michael Penix Jr. has been great for the Atlanta Falcons this season, and while the offensive line deserves some blame for being unable to pick up a blitz, his slow start was the main reason they went down early and were unable to complete the comeback--which Dennis Allen deserves credit for.

The schedule is only getting tougher, so he needs to adjust before this becomes a pattern.

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