Michael Penix Jr. made his long-awaited preseason debut for the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night in Miami, and while the length of his participation didn't offer much room for highlights, he lived up to expectation.
The well-seasoned collegiate star stepped onto the field and proved his greatest strengths made the jump with him from Washington to the NFL. Penix looked comfortable in the pocket, delivered most of his passes on time and unsurprisingly relied on his live arm to get the job done, whipping on-target throws on his way to a 9-for-16, 104-yard performance in Atlanta's 20-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
“It felt good to go out there and compete with my brothers," said Penix, who the Falcons took eighth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. "Just having fun out there and playing the game I’ve been playing since I was 5-years-old. So, no nerves, no jitters, just ready to go.”
Penix's only struggles came in red zone situations, in which Atlanta's staff asked him to attempt a couple of fades, and Penix answered by throwing them out of the reach of his intended targets.
“He wants one of those throws back that output he threw on the sideline, but he was able to through some progressions," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. "He was able to progress. We get a little pass happy with him since he’s a first-round quarterback. It was fun to see him go out there and execute some of the pass plays and we were able to get some of the stuff done. ... Pretty much, a really good night for him and I was really pleased with what he was able to do.”
Otherwise, Penix proved he's many steps ahead of the other quarterback options not named Kirk Cousins on the Falcons' roster, using his arm talent to fire underneath and intermediate bullets to a cast of pass catchers, and loft one beautiful sideline fade to Chris Blair for a gain of 41. Though it was only one game, it's already quite clear that Penix will be firmly entrenched as the No. 2 option behind Cousins entering 2024.
Taylor Heinicke and Nathan Rourke -- who each struggled through the air, while Rourke found some late success on the ground -- will duke it out for the third-string job in Atlanta behind Penix and Cousins, even if it isn't yet official. The proof is in the tape.