How Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. impressed Raheem Morris after nightmare outing

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris benched starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. during the Week 3 matchup against the Carolina Panthers after Penix completed 18-of-36 pass attempts for 172 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a score, in what became a 30-0 blowout loss. 

Penix then helped the Falcons improve to 2-2 on the season via a 34-27 win over the Washington Commanders this past Sunday. Coming off that result, Morris explained how Penix's actions throughout last week gave the Falcons confidence that the 25-year-old would bounce back from the Carolina game in a big way. 

How Michael Penix Jr. "fixed" Falcons offense after loss to Panthers

"When he walked to the meeting room, the passion when he talked to his group, when he came in and talked to his unit, his ability to put his head down and work. There was no moping, there was no finger-pointing," Morris said about Penix, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN. "He took it on himself, and he came out and fixed it."

Specifically, Penix connected on 20-of-26 passes for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against Washington. His 126.0 passer rating was also a career best for the 2024 first-round draft pick who has made just seven regular-season starts as a pro. 

Some understandably couldn't help but wonder on the evening of Sept. 21 if Penix could be one more loss away from possibly losing the QB1 gig to veteran Kirk Cousins. Penix temporarily silenced such talk ahead of Atlanta's Week 5 bye. 

What Raheem Morris loves about Michael Penix Jr.

"When I watched him play in college, he had all the things that I loved," Morris continued. "All the unique tools, [the ability] to get the ball out his hand and to be able to find the open receiver, be able to throw the ball down the field, to be able to go through the process of a football game through all those things. And I've been absolutely enamored by him since I had the chance to draft him."

According to ESPN stats, Penix ranks 17th in the NFL among qualified players with a 60.5 adjusted QBR on the season. Morris sounds confident his starting signal-caller will climb up such leaderboards when the Falcons resume the campaign with a home game against the Buffalo Bills (4-0) on Oct. 13. 

"This young man is one of those guys who is the definition of great, the definition of resilience," Morris added about Penix. "We've talked about his calm demeanor since he's been here, and just another opportunity for him to go out there and show it."