Michael Penix has the makings of a star. The rookie took over as the quarterback for the final three games of the season and instantly elevated the Falcons' offense, giving them a chance to win the NFC South. He looks like the future of the franchise, but the future won't amount to much if they don't fix the glaring holes on this roster.
The Steakhouse discussed their excitement for Penix, but also how important it will be for this team to figure its defense out in the coming months.
"I think he'll be throwing this summer with Drake and Darnell and Ray-Ray McCloud and Bijan and Khadarel Hodge," Steak said. "He's got the mantel [and] he's the future for the next decade."
In his first three starts, Penix looked like the next face of the Falcons. He dropped dimes with a rocket for an arm en route to 775 yards and three touchdowns. The trio of interceptions will need to be cleaned up next season, but two of them came off of fluke-dropped passes by pass-catchers.
Making the playoffs would have been a nice cherry on top for the final stretch of the Falcons' season, but any talk about that is a "shoulda, woulda, coulda" discussion because this team wasn't ready for the big stage.
The reality, says The Steakhouse, is that the Falcons must revamp this defense and give the offense a chance to take off in 2025.
"Did you watch Bryce Young [and] Sam Darnold? Did you watch Bo Nix?" Steak asked rhetorically about the future of this unit. "This defense was last in the league in sacks, other than New England which had the worst team in the NFL."
The offense looked tremendous down the stretch, but a lack of complementary football throughout the season hurt the Falcons in 2024. They finished second-to-last in sacks, 24th in total defense, and 23rd in scoring defense. Simply put, it's not good enough for a team who sees itself as a future Super Bowl contender.
