The Atlanta Falcons are nearing the end of their playoff push and control their destiny. With two games left to play, they are effectively playing two de facto elimination games with the next test being the high-flying Washington Commanders.
Led by Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are scoring 28.8 points per game (fourth in the NFL) and Atlanta will be tasked with keeping pace -- but can they?
Senior editor and staff writer for the Atlanta Falcons' digital media team, Will McFadden, joined Chris Thomas to explain why a rookie quarterback making his second-career start will have what it takes to put up points on Sunday.
“I think in this league, you can't really put a guy out there unless you have that level of confidence in him, certainly not a rookie,” McFadden said about the confidence the coaching staff has in Penix. “When they did make the turn [to Penix], they said the playbook is open. Everything's on the table. We have confidence in not only the player, but the person, and so with all of that in mind, if this turns into a ‘we're up and down the court and this is the fast-paced game’ all of a sudden [then] you got to let the rookie cook."
What we saw against the Giants last week was evidence enough for McFadden, who as the utmost confidence that Penix will be ready to get rolling against the future Rookie of the Year.
“What we saw on Sunday against the Giants gives me a lot of confidence that he can do that,” he said. “He's got the arm strength. He's got the velocity. And I think we saw on Sunday he's got the poise. If this turns into a crazy environment -- similar to the game Washington just played in Philadelphia -- if it's one of those types of games, what better proving ground for a player who has been in some of the biggest college football games over the last couple of years?”
He finished, “Everything I've seen, everything I've heard indicates that that he'll do well in that moment.”