There's no way of sugarcoating it: the Atlanta Falcons' offense looked flat-out horrendous in their Week 7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The 20-10 defeat on Sunday Night Football saw Christian McCaffrey have his best game of the season, while Bijan Robinson enjoyed one of his worst.
While Michael Penix Jr.'s stat line looked impressive, he was getting abused by the San Francisco pass rush (particularly Bryce Huff) all evening long. Following back-to-back strong offensive performances from the Dirty Birds, Week 7 saw a severe regression—and Penix knows they're better than that performance.
Penix: We've got too many good players on this team to not find a way. #Falcons
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 20, 2025
For an offense with Robinson, Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Kyle Pitts to only muster 10 points on primetime is incredibly disheartening—especially after the Bills upset. Penix's words serve as a stark reminder that the job is far from finished, and snapping the playoff drought will be an uphill battle.
Michael Penix Jr. admits the Falcons are better than their dismal Week 7 performance
While the offense struggled, much of the blame has to go to OC Zac Robinson. The run game ignited no sparks in Santa Clara, which means Atlanta had to turn to Penix to win them that game. And for a young quarterback who has spent a lot of his young career as a game manager, he looked like a fish out of water.
Robinson was severely out-coached by Robert Saleh, especially late in the game, as the 49ers managed to stop the Falcons on fourth down and short based on sheer predictability. As talented as the Dirty Birds might be, they rely too heavily upon that offensive talent, and it's starting to serve as a detriment to Penix's development .
As much as they might hang their hat on Robinson or London's sheer dominance, there haven't been enough deep shots dialed up to tailor the offense to the strengths of their second-year QB—and his minor injury suffered means Robinson might get even more conservative in his play-calling.
The 25-year-old attempted over 35 or more passes for the third time this season, completing 21 of 38 attempts for 241 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled, as Elijah Wilkinson's rough night did little to help protect his blind side.
For a team that's 3-3, it's felt like they've left a lot on the table. Week 1 against Tampa Bay was a game this team could have won and they left bunches of points on the table on Sunday also. However, that Week 3 loss against the Panthers feels like an anomaly—even with Carolina overachieving at 4-3.
Penix has all the makings of a franchise quarterback, and we've seen that very early into his career. It's rare you see a guy out-duel Josh Allen on primetime, but Week 7 was a massive step backward not just for the Washington product, but one of the NFL's most exciting young offenses who fans are now struggling to evaluate.