Before last night, the last time Michael Penix Jr and J.J. McCarthy went toe-to-toe was in the National Championship, where McCarthy and Michigan downed Penix and Washington 34-13. It's part of what made the stakes so high in Week 2, as the Heisman Trophy runner-up was in pursuit of revenge.
And on Sunday Night Football, with the entire nation watching, he served the rookie a taste of his own medicine. The Atlanta Falcons decimated the Minnesota Vikings 22-6 while three McCarthy turnovers led to Minnesota's offense to sputter and fail to reach the end zone.
The "rivalry" between the quarterbacks dates back to their college days, but it's Penix who left no doubt in this battle. With the two signal-callers taken just two picks apart in the 2024 Draft, their careers will forever be linked. But on this stage, the 25-year-old showed he can silence critics under the brightest of lights and finally topple his so-called college “kryptonite.”
Michael Penix Jr silences critics with revenge victory over J.J. McCarthy
Penix went 13 of 21 for 135 passing yards and no touchdowns in Week 2—a stat line that was far less flashy than the Week 1 loss, but the game script vastly differed. Against the Buccaneers, he threw for nearly 300 yards, but that was a shootout where both the run game and defense faltered.
This time, the Falcons ran for over 200 yards and the defense forced four takeaways, allowing Penix to play within himself and, in a sense, “out-McCarthy” McCarthy. This game didn't require fireworks from the Tampa native—just composure, mistake-free football, and the ability to control the clock.
Another thing that helped the Falcons offense move was consistency at kicker. While Atlanta's red zone efficency suffered, John Parker Romo went 5-5 on field goal attempts in his Falcons debut–and looks to have firmly established himself ahead of Younghoe Koo in the kicker pecking order. And it looks like Koo's time in Flowery Branch is offically coming to an end.
The most impressive part? In just five NFL starts, Penix has made two starts on primetime—and won both. Yet all of this was done without gaudy numbers from his top receivers Both Drake London and Darnell Mooney combined for just 69 receiving yards and London's four targets marked the lowest total since the former Huskies star took over for Kirk Cousins.
This is a victory that is inflating as they come for Raheem Morris and the Falcons, and it all started with the man under center. He proved that he can win without lighting up the stat sheet and that he can steady the offense while Jeff Ulbrich's revamped defense sets the tone.
Fans questioned Terry Fontenot's decision to take Penix over McCarthy, and he just made a lot of people eat their words–—which should only continue in Week 3 against a struggling Bryce Young and a porous Panthers' defense.