After their quarterback couldn't finish Sunday night's overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens due to a rib injury, the Atlanta Falcons are getting some positive news relating to Michael Penix Jr.'s status for Week 6. On Wednesday, head coach Kevin Stefanski said Penix is "feeling better" and that, if "everything goes according to plan," he will start on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
"Mike will practice," Stefanski said to begin his Wednesday press conference. "He'll be limited in some fashion. We'll see how he's feeling and have communication with him to see how many reps we'll take off, so that's to be determined."
When asked specifically if Penix will start on Sunday, Stefeanski said, "Yes, as long as everything goes according to plan."
Stefanski went on to say that he wants to see how Penix is feeling out on the field before making hard determinations on how the practice reps will be divvied up.
"With any injury like this, you want to make sure, as they move around, how they're feeling," he said. "It could be all, some, none. We shall see."
Penix suffered the injury after being sacked by Baltimore's Tavius Robinson with about 19 seconds left in regulation. He fumbled the ball after getting hit, but the Falcons recovered the football. Penix was forced to miss that next play, but did return one play later, throwing an incompletion before Atlanta punted the ball away. The game eventually went to overtime.
Despite that brief return, the former first-round pick did not go back onto the field during the overtime period, as Tua Tagovailoa relieved him the rest of the way. After the Ravens scored a touchdown on their opening possession, Tagovailoa tossed a game-clinching interception, with Atlanta falling 30-23.
It can't be overstated how much of a night-and-day difference Penix has made since returning as the starter in Week 3. After a 0-2 start with Cooper Rush as the starter, the Falcons are 2-1 under Penix, who was working his way back from a torn ACL last year. With Penix under center, the offense has averaged 34.3 points per game and 428.3 total yards per game, so likely having him back for this contest is a big development for their hopes of staying in the NFC South race.
