Here’s what Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had to say after the 34-7 victory over the Giants on Sunday:
On getting a win and the preparation for his first start: “It was great. I’ve been preparing each and every day for this day. I always prepare the starter, even though I wasn’t at first. But it’s a blessing to be able to come out here and get a big-time win for the team, and the defense played a heck of a game. A big credit to those guys. Two touchdowns on the defensive side of the ball, and the offensive line, the way they played, kept me clean all game, and obviously getting the ball to the playmakers that we have, they’re going to make plays, and they did all game. So, it was such a blessing, and it was a great game, great team game.”
On how this game felt compared to the other games when he has come in late: “I mean, yeah. It’s different. Being a starter, you’re up there, the other two times that I got to play, we were down, and it’s a different feeling in the game at that point. But being out there, first snap, it felt a little different, but I was excited, I was ready for the moment.”
On his interaction with Kirk Cousins before the game his evaluation of his first start in the NFL: “Kirk has been great all week, just always being there for me, anything I needed help with. He’s been great. He’s a great leader, great teammate, and we talk all the time. Coming off on the sidelines, he’s always asked me what I saw, and he continued to encourage me throughout the whole game.”
On his evaluation of his first start: “There’s always going to be things that you look back you know you could clean up. I feel like I could have did a couple things better, and we’ll get that cleaned up. But it was a blessing that we was able to come out with a win and whatever needs to get fixed, it’ll show on film, and we’ll make sure we target that throughout this week so that we’ll be ready next week.”
On playing on Sunday Night Football and next week being a must win game: “Like I said, just take it one day at a time. I always live by that 1-0 mindset, just go one day at a time. So each and every day at practice just make sure that I’m preparing and make sure that whenever game time do come, we’re 100 percent ready and we’ve got everything down and we feel good about the game plan and just go out there and execute. That’s what it’s going to come down to is execution. Yeah, it’s a must-win game, but that’s not how we’re looking at it. We’re looking at it as just the next game, we’ve got to win each and every game and that’s our mentality going in each and every week.”
On whether he was as composed as he looked: “I was. Man, I’m just blessed. Like I said, before the game, I just let God take over, you know. I know that I’m here for a reason. I worked extremely hard to get to this position, and I just had to go out there and execute, and we executed to get a win today. Big credit to the defense as well, like I said. It was great.”
On his ability to avoid a sack during the game: “I mean, I’ve played a lot of football. I’ve been in a lot of situations before. I thought I should have broke that tackle, I should have got out of it. But he had me and he was about to tackle me, and I saw Drake [London] and I knew I could throw it at his feet to save some yards. So that’s what I did.”
On whether he had any moments of nervousness: “I mean you do feel that stuff, but once I hit the field, it goes away. It’s the game I’ve been playing since I was five years old, and obviously it’s different, it’s at a high level, but it’s the same game. I’ve just got to go out there and execute. So, once we hit the field, I was good.”
On saying he would be nervous until he ran out of the tunnel and whether that was the case today: “Yeah. Yeah. Exactly what I talked about. I was good once I hit the field.”
On the chemistry-building process with the Falcons receivers and how that will continue to evolve: “It takes a lot of reps. That’s the biggest thing, just getting those reps in practice as many live reps as we can, and we did a lot of reps this past week, and we’re going to continue to grow. So, what you saw out there today, a couple missed throws, stuff like that, it’s only going to get better as we continue to work, continue to get more comfortable with that connection. Especially like, I think about one to Drake today, he’s a big receiver, I threw a fade to him. I’ve just got to know I’ve got to get that ball up higher and he’s going to make that play. Like I said, just the more reps we get, the more comfortable we’re going to be with it, and game time we’re going to show it.”
On some of the things he feels like he needs to clean up: “Just some of the reads, just processing stuff. I know at the end of the half making that throw to Kyle Pitts, just trusting my guy, trusting my guy to make a play, but at the same time just understanding the situation and stuff like that. How much time was on the clock, no timeouts. Just make sure I’m making the right decision but knowing the next play we’ve got to go spike the ball and we’ll probably have like six, seven seconds. Stuff like that, just evaluating some of that stuff, going over it, and that’ll come as we continue to keep going throughout these weeks as we continue to have those talks and stuff like that. But just small stuff like that. For me and this team, I know we want to get first downs each and every drive. So, if we have a three and out today, it’s like, that’s unacceptable. We’ve got to move the ball and give our defense great field position if we don’t get in the end zone.”
On how he felt like his arm talent showed today: “I mean I just trust in it. I just in it. I trust in my reads. I trust in my preparation. So, whenever I go out there, I’m able to play fast and make those throws on time, on rhythm and anticipate and stuff like that. But like you said, I feel like I trust my arm because of the reps that I have. I see it each and every day throughout practice. I’m making those throws, those guys are making those plays, offensive line keeping me protected. So, when it comes to game day, it’s like just another day for us. I just trust in myself, trust in myself, trust in God will guide me in the right direction.”
On whether his gameday routine changed at all today: “No. Everything was the same. Everything was the same. Like I said, I’ve been preparing as a starter each and every week, so I’m not changing what I’ve been doing.”
On how much easier it made things with the defense getting two pick-sixes: “Like I said, man. It’s great. It’s wonderful to have that. Credit to those guys. They do it each and every day in practice. They work extremely hard. You see the attention to detail they have. We go in the locker room and I’m next to Jessie Bates, and the way they talk in the locker room about stuff that they saw on the field, and it’s non-stop, man. It’s credit to those guys, credit to coach [Jimmy] Lake leading those guys, and the defensive line doing a great job putting pressure on the quarterback to allow those turnovers. So, it’s all-around great efforts.”
On Bijan Robinson apologizing for not getting in the end zone to get Penix his first touchdown pass: “I told him, it’s all good, man. We won the football game. That’s the biggest thing, but, man, it just shows the person he is, the character that we have, not just with him, but everybody on this team, everybody caring about each other. He talked about getting me my first touchdown. Like, it’ll come. It’ll come. The biggest thing we want to do each and every week is win. So, we were able to do that. So, I’m super excited we did that. But, yeah, he did come to me and say that, but I told him it’s all good, bro. You got in the end zone, we’re good.”
On the cameras catching Kirk Cousins talking with him in the tunnel: “Each and every game we pray. We pray. Kirk prays over the group and just prays that we go out there and execute at a high level and we stay safe doing it. That’s what it was, he was praying.”
On how many tickets he had to buy and whether he will be celebrating at Costco: “I know I gave 25 tickets maybe. But we won’t be at Costco. Hopefully, it’s something better, like something like fancier. Costco is great! Costco needs to hit me up.”
On whether there was anyone from around the league that reached out to him before the game: “My teammates, you know, just being there for me just encouraging me, just letting me know that I don’t have to do anything outside of what I do and just go out there and be myself. After the game, the love in the locker room is great, man. It’s like that each and every day. We have that strong bond on this team, and I’m super thankful for it and it starts with Raheem, the way that he leads us, and just shows what it’s like to be a family, you know, more than just a team, to be a family. And it’s a blessing to be able to be on this team, and it was a lot of love in the building.”
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