Jake Matthews's Belief in Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.: 'Absolute Stud'

The Atlanta Falcons opened up their season with a 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that came down to the final seconds. It felt like a missed opportunity for the Falcons after sweeping the Buccaneers last season. 

Veteran offensive lineman Jake Matthews understands that, as disappointing as the loss to the Buccaneers was, there’s plenty of football left.   

“We’ve just got to learn from this,” Matthews said after the game. “Hate saying this, but it’s a long season, and as much as we wanted to win today, you know we can’t pack it in.

“I think it just comes with being a pro. You gotta understand, one game can’t make you, at the same time it can’t break you. Take our lumps, learn from it. Obviously, you’re still going to be pretty frustrated the next few hours and days, but that’s part of being a pro. You’ve gotta learn how to fix it, and we’ve got a huge matchup next week that we’ve got to be ready for.

“We can’t be thinking about today (Sunday) when that time comes.”

The Falcons take on the Vikings on Sunday Night Football this week. The Vikings are starting second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy who looked like a player making his first NFL appearance in the first half of their 27-24 win against the Chicago Bears.

And he looked like a fellow top 10 pick in the fourth quarter comeback.

Part of Matthew’s resolve heading to Minnesota lies in his own quarterback. Michael Penix led two drives in the fourth quarter that put the Falcons in position to win.

“I thought he played like an absolute stud,” Matthews said of his second-year quarterback. “Just his determination, and the way he leads us offensively, what he showed today, I think he’s gonna do… continue to do… really good things for us.”

All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III concurred with Matthews after watching Penix from the sidelines.

“Michael Penix is going to be alright if you guys can’t tell,” Jessie Bates said after the game.

“When there’s tough plays got to be made, you know, he’s touching the ball every play and we got complete trust in what he’s able to do.”

If anyone knows it’s a long season, it’s the Falcons.

The Falcons shot themselves in the foot in their season opener last year against a very beatable Pittsburgh Steelers team, only to rebound on the road against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.

More recently, Atlanta was 6-4 heading into Week 11 with a 2.5 game lead in the NFC South and lost three in a row (in a four game losing streak) and watched the Buccaneers claim another division title.

It’s a long season. 

The Falcons will have another chance to bounce back on the road against a 2024 playoff team in the Vikings. Kickoff is Sunday at 8:20 p.m. EST with television coverage on NBC.