FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was the toast of the locker room after the 34-7 win over the Giants on Sunday.
“It was a big accomplishment for him,” running back Bijan Robinson said. Getting that first win. Guys were coming over to congratulate him. It was big.”
The Falcons kept their playoff hopes alive and received a big boost from the Cowboys who held on to defeat the Buccaneers, 26-24, on Sunday Night Football.
The Falcons and Bucs – both 8-7 – are tied for first place in the NFC South with two games to play. The Falcons own the tiebreaker with two head-to-head wins over the Bucs and would go to the playoffs if they can post wins over the Commanders (10-5) on Sunday and the Panthers (4-11) in Week 18 of the regular season.
“I think we did a good job,” left tackle Jake Matthews told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We stayed on track. We ran the ball well. We threw it when we needed to. We had the play-pass going, all that kind of stuff. I think Michael did a really good job. I didn’t feel like it was his first start out there.”
Here are the five things we learned from the win.
1. Pass rush continued to shine: The Falcons continued to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. They had three sacks and six quarterback hits.
The Falcons are still last in the league with 26 sacks, but 16 of them have come since bye-week adjustments four weeks ago.
Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie, inside linebacker Kaden Elliss and outside linebacker Matthew Judon each had a sack against the Giants.
“I feel like I’m still leaving some meat on the bone out there,” said Ebiketie, who’s tied with Elliss for the team lead with five sacks. “I feel good where I’m at. Just trying to stay as consistent as possible.”
Ebiketie has taken a more relaxed approach to his pass rush.
“I’m just trying not to over think,” Ebiketie said. “Just go out there and play fast. I feel like the game plan that we have is unbelievable. Just try to go out there and be the best version of myself as possible.”
The Falcons believe they are rushing better as a unit.
“We are all of the same page now,” Ebiketie said. “All four, five guys, no matter how many people. We are on the same page and have a common goal. I think that’s why we’ve been able to collect a few sacks.”
2. Big win in must-win situation: The Falcons considered the game against the Giants as an early playoff game.
“It was really big,” rookie defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro told the AJC. “We are in that playoff hunt, so every game matters. We have to play every game like it’s a playoff game. It was Mike’s first game. So, we had to have his back out there. He played well and we got the job done.”
The defense contributed with two pick-sixes from safety Jessie Bates III and Judon.
“Yeah, that was kind of crazy, Judon’s pick six was my favorite though,” Orhorhoro said. “It’s always good to see a (defensive) lineman get in the box (end zone).”
Even before the Dallas result was final. the Falcons already knew they were going to need to upset the Commanders, who had a thrilling comeback against the Eagles.
“There is a lot of stuff on tape that we’ve got to fix,” Orhorhoro said. “Get better from that. Enjoy Christmas with our families. Then get to the weekend, we have to go back to work on Sunday.”
3. Robinson is rolling: Robinson has been doing a lot of the heaving lifting on offense.
He had 103 yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns. It was his 11th game this season with at least 100 scrimmage-yards, the second-most in the NFL.
Robinson became the first Falcons player since Warrick Dunn in 2005 to have at least 100 scrimmage-yards 11 times in a season. He also became the second-fastest player in team history (32 games) to reach 3,000 scrimmage yards over his career, trailing only William Andrews (31 games).
Also, with 1,616 scrimmage yards, Robinson is just the eighth player in Falcons history with at least 1,600 scrimmage yards in a season. He’s the first since Julio Jones had 1,689 scrimmage yards in 2018.
4. Respect for Nabers: Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell has a lot of respect for Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was targeted 14 times and caught seven passes for 68 yards.
Terrell, who’s having a fine season, traveled with Nabers for most of the game.
“Yeah, I had him for most of the day,” Terrell told the AJC. “He’s a good receiver.”
Terrell did a film breakdown of Nabers to prepare for the game.
“Make sure that we limit him as much as possible because he makes their offense come alive,” Terrell said. “But it was just a task where you want to go out and play your best game and not allow him to make big plays.”
Terrell will have another big assignment against the Commanders and wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who caught five passes for 60 yards and a 32-yard touchdown in the Commanders win over the Eagles. Also, former Falcons wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus got loose for five catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns, including a 49-yard touchdown catch.
5. Can Pitts step-it up?: Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is not having a very good season.
It was the sixth game this season that he’s had just one catch of fewer. His bobble of a Penix pass lead to the rookie’s only interception.
Pitts has caught just 41 of the 66 targets this season and has a career-low 40.9% catch success rate.
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