The Falcons Have Something in Michael Penix

With all due respect to Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, Michael Penix made more impressive throws in his 3 starts than either did in their 17 and 12 starts respectively. That’s not meant to be a knock on Williams or Maye. It’s more about how well Penix played in those three starts.

The most impressive aspect of his performance, however, is that he exhibited high-level traits in the biggest moments.

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This doesn’t mean what you think it means. I’m not saying Penix is “clutch,” or that he’s a “winner,” or that he just has “it.” I don’t really care about those labels since they seem to be based on a popularity contest and not anything consistently definable.

What I’m referring to instead is that in pressure-packed situations, every athlete falls back on the skills that he is most comfortable with. He falls back on the habits that have been ingrained in him.

This is why it’s hard to fundamentally change a quarterback’s throwing motion. Or a hitter’s swing. Because when the heat is on, they’re going to call on old reliable.

With Penix, the traits he fell back on in these moments were quick processing, coverage recognition, and high-level anticipation. Which is a great indicator that these attributes are a consistent part of who he is as a quarterback.

The two plays I want to focus on came during Atlanta’s Week 17 overtime loss to the Commanders. In the 4th quarter, the Falcons trailed 24-17 with just two-and-a-half minutes remaining. They needed to win this game with the NFC South division race neck-and-neck.

Atlanta faced a 4th-and-11. This was the ballgame. And it was also the moment in the movie where the two coaches look at each other and say, “This guy has some serious sh*t.”

The Commanders would start in a 2-shell look but rotate to cover-1 post-snap:

Penix recognized it instantly and knew that he had Drake London in soft 1-on-1 coverage to the left:

That was all he needed to make his decision and get rid of this ball with tremendous anticipation:

Look at where London was in his route when Penix had already made his decision and started his throwing motion:

Now look where the ball was at the moment that London first got his head around:

That was a 28-yard throw and the ball had traveled about 11-12 yards in the air before London got his eyes on it. That’s just tremendous. And again, the fact that Penix showed it in such a big moment tells you that this is a part of his game that he is extremely comfortable with. Anticipation is a trait that’s ingrained in him.

But Penix wasn’t done there.

Just 5 plays later, Atlanta faced another 4th down. This time it was 4th-and-goal from the 13. There was now 1:23 remaining.

Atlanta had 4-verts called. With the Commanders playing split-safety coverage, those seam routes would bend inside:

Penix read the coverage and saw the Mike linebacker cheating strong post-snap in response to the back’s pre-snap alignment and initial movement to the right post-snap. Penix then held him there with his eyes:

He knew that would be enough to give him a throwing lane to the weakside. Penix then hit his back foot and got this ball out immediately, delivering a perfect strike for the game-tying touchdown:

Check it out again from the end zone angle. Watch Penix look down the middle at the snap, get his shoulders and head tilting strong to the right to hold that Mike linebacker, then hit his back foot and get the ball out immediately:

Based on the timing and how quickly he threw this ball after hitting his back foot, it was clear Penix understood the coverage and knew he had the underneath throwing lane as soon as he saw the Mike move.

Again, to do this in a big moment with the pressure on tells you how processing, reading the field, and moving or holding defenders is part of who he is as a quarterback.

Not to mention, both of the throws above were deadly accurate intermediate-level throws, another attribute Penix displays on a regular basis.

The Falcons may have found one…

The two plays above are great illustrations of how Penix possesses critical traits for playing the position at a high level. But quite frankly, there were plenty of other examples all over his tape. You can check those out in my Michael Penix Film Session, where I go into more depth and take you through over 25 plays from last season.

The first several plays or are free to view, but you’ll need a Founding Member subscription to see the rest.

And remember, a Founding Member subscription also gets you access to our playbook with over 75 breakdowns grouped by concept (e.g. passing game, running game, situational, coverages, pressures, etc.).