Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback made his starting debut on Sunday, and he impressed one of the best defenders of all time.

The Falcons have Penix set up well with an excellent run game led by Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, good players to throw to like Drake London and Darnell Mooney (and maybe even Kyle Pitts if he can finally put it all together) and a sound offensive line to keep him upright. That will matter as Penix finds himself as an NFL quarterback.

The individual stats won't blow you away, but Michael Penix Jr.'s starting debut for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was pretty darn impressive. The rookie, controversially taken No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft and even more controversially inserted into the starting lineup after Atlanta benched Kirk Cousins this week,

The Michael Penix Jr. era has arrived in Atlanta. The Falcons rookie quarterback made his first start on Sunday, leading Atlanta to a dominant 34-7 win

Michael Penix Jr. was shopping with his girlfriend at Costco on Tuesday ... Sure, Cousins has been in the worst slump of his career and has thrown more picks (16) than anybody in the NFL this season. As he acknowledged, “There’s a standard.

The Atlanta Falcons have to be happy with what they saw from rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in his first NFL start. While the numbers don’t jump out, Penix’s decisiveness, arm talent and pocket mobility were on display during Sunday’s 34-7 win over the New York Giants.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris benched starting quarterback Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. last week, and Penix ultimately

Penix finished 18-for-27 for 202 yards, no touchdowns and a deflected interception. Two pick sixes by the defense helped a lot.

It was the most surprising first-round pick in a long time when the Atlanta Falcons chose Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall selection in the NFL draft last April.

Despite his benching, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins strongly supported rookie passer Michael Penix Jr. in Sunday's win over the New York Giants.

The Falcons raised eyebrows when they decided to retain general manager Terry Fontenot while parting ways with head coach Arthur Smith. However, even if rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.