The Atlanta Falcons got a glimpse at something at home on Sunday that the franchise has not seen since 2008: promising signs from a first-round quarterback.
Now, the franchise has only taken two quarterbacks in the first round of the NFL draft since that 2008 class: Matt Ryan and Michael Penix Jr.
Ryan is the franchise’s best player in its history, a former MVP and possible Pro Football Hall of Famer who got perilously close to winning a Super Bowl.
Penix is a rookie who has played a single full NFL game and looked pretty darn good against one of the league’s lesser defenses. Of course, one of these guys has a long way to go to catch up to the other in Atlanta sports history.
However, you saw the spark. Ryan’s first pass was a touchdown to wide receiver Michael Jenkins. Penix’s first pass was a dart to wideout Ray-Ray McCloud that he couldn’t gain control of before it hit the turf. Ryan’s first stat line: 161 yards, the touchdown. Penix’s first stat line: 202 yards and a wonky interception that wasn’t his fault.
They aren’t exactly lined up, but Penix threw passes all afternoon that looked like high-level NFL quarterbacking. Even though he couldn’t match Ryan’s storied first play, he did more than enough to show what he’s capable of.
Ryan is the player Penix will get compared to throughout the first years of his career, if only because he’s the franchise’s next great hope to bring it to the promised land. They’re not the same quarterback, and Penix will forge his path in the NFL in different way than Ryan did.
However, the clearest similarity between the two right now is in the promise. Ryan’s first pass and efficient first game in a Falcons uniform gave the city of Atlanta some real hope that the ugly downfall of the Michael Vick years might finally be over.
Penix’s first game with the Falcons gave Atlanta fans a tantalizing glimpse at a future with young talent and stability at the quarterback position, something the team has been starved for in years of mediocrity.
As our Christian D’Andrea wisely pointed out, Penix ran the kind of offense that the Falcons either couldn’t or wouldn’t with Kirk Cousins under center because of the latter’s next-to-nonexistent mobility in the pocket.
Of course, Ryan needed time to get from being a sturdy game manager with an elite run game to being the star quarterback he eventually was during his best years. One laudable game for Penix against a lowly New York Giants team doesn’t mean that the rookie should be coronated as the definitive future of the franchise.
Like any quarterback, it’s going to take a few years for the world to really know who Penix is and what he’s capable of as a long-term NFL starter. Nothing is set in stone, and Penix’s injury history will always be in the back of minds when he takes a bad hit or falls down awkwardly to the ground.
However, Penix’s looked the part against New York. He made decisive decisions, largely kept the ball out of harm’s way, showed off his howitzer of an arm, avoided sacks and moved the offense down the field multiple times to put it in scoring position.
Penix looked confident and poised. He didn’t get rattled when pressure was in his face. He made his reads and got the ball out in a timely fashion. It helped to have the supporting cast around him that he did. He wasn’t perfect, but he looked like he belonged.
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.
Rookie quarterbacks aren’t always afforded that kind of infrastructure in their first starts. They also aren’t guaranteed a soft landing spot like a two-win Giants team destined for a high 2025 NFL draft pick. You balance the circumstances in which Penix did well on the field and you wait to see if he can build on them in different scenarios. Sunday gives hope he can do so.
That matters for a Falcons franchise that never fully recovered after blowing that 28-3 lead in Super Bowl 51. Penix’s first game doesn’t make him a lock to hold the job for the next decade-plus, but you can see it working out. After years of waiting, the Falcons finally have somebody to hope in for brighter days.
