Michael Penix Jr. keeps stacking up statement wins, and Sunday brought another one for the former Washington Huskies star.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback helped knock off the San Francisco 49ers 29-20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, handing San Francisco its first loss of the season. Penix finished 25-for-34 for 213 yards and three touchdowns, continuing a run that has turned into one of the more impressive stretches of his season.
It was the second straight game in which Penix threw at least three touchdown passes, and it marked his third win in four completed games started and finished this year. He also missed the game-deciding drive in Atlanta’s 30-23 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 11.
Through five starts, Penix has pushed the Falcons to a 3-2 record in games he’s started. Atlanta sits at 3-4 overall and in second place in the NFC South, with all three of the team’s wins coming with Penix under center.
The numbers keep looking stronger, too. Penix has completed 66.7% of his passes for 1,157 yards this season with nine touchdowns and one interception.
His current run comes after a rough finish to last season, when a partially torn left ACL ended his 2025-26 campaign after nine games played and started. In the offseason, the Falcons signed Tua Tagovailoa to compete with him for the starting job. Tagovailoa was named the starter to begin the season, but an oblique injury opened the door for Penix to reclaim the role after the first two weeks.
Penix’s NFL path began when Atlanta took him eighth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft after his standout work at Washington. The 26-year-old arrived in Seattle after four injury-plagued seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers and then made the most of his two years with the Huskies.
At Washington, Penix earned back-to-back second-team All-Pac-12 honors, was the Associated Press Comeback Player of The Year in '22-23, became a first-team All-American in 2023-24 and led the NCAA in passing yards that same season. Over those two years, he completed 65.4% of his passes for 9,544 yards, 67 touchdowns and 19 interceptions across 28 games, all starts.
He also guided the Huskies to the College Football Playoff national championship game in 2024, where they lost to the Michigan Wolverines 34-13.
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