Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr.: ‘We just knew we had to go put points on the board’
Here are excerpts from what Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had to say Monday after the 24-14 win over the Bills:
On the offensive performance coming off a bye week and getting the win on Monday Night Football: “Man, it means a lot. When you talk about coming off the bye, I feel like it shows maturity. I feel like the guys, even though we had a bye week, I know a lot of guys are still putting in the work, making sure whenever we did come back, they would be ready to go. And it showed today. Obviously, you talk about the offensive side of the ball, but I definitely got to give huge praise to the defense. The way they played, obviously playing against a reigning MVP and a good offense over there, the way our defense played every drive, it was amazing to see. It gave the offense confidence. We just knew we had to go put points on the board and protect the ball, and we did that really good tonight.”
On RB Bijan Robinson’s performance: “Man, knowing him, he’s just going to say he give all the glory to God. Whenever we talk about who he is, that’s who he is. He’s a man of God, and he’s a great teammate, a great leader, and a hard worker. It’s only right that he gets all these accolades and doing the things that he does, because of the person that he is. So, that’s who he is. He’s a man of God. He shines his light every day.”
On how the secondary played: “Really good. I know earlier, midway through the week, I heard Rah (Raheem Morris) say that defense was going to play a lot of the man today, and they did that. Those guys are up for the challenge. They played great football and allowed our defensive line to get sacks and stuff like that because Josh (Allen) had to hold the ball whenever people weren’t open down the field. It was definitely big-time. And like I said, man, we couldn’t have won this game without what they did on that side of the ball.”
On his favorite RB Bijan Robinson moment: “That screen play. I threw the screen over there on our sideline. I don’t know what he did, but that probably was it. This game, tonight. He was on our sideline, and he red-zoned. He broke, like, five tackles, shook two, three people. Man, I don’t know. I see new stuff every day.”
On what WR Drake London’s effort and play meant to the team: “It means a lot. That’s the football we want to play. That’s how we’ve got to come out all the time, even after half. Whenever I say that, coming out of half, I don’t feel like we played our football. I feel like we had more in the tank. For us to go out there and win that football game with the second half that I feel like we had that was a big lull, I feel like it’s going to be a scary sight whenever we figure it out and all play together and play a full game and not just one good half.”
On whether he feels they’ve played a full game on offense: “It’s still to come. Maybe next week.”
On how he feels like the offense is evolving over the season: “Like I said, I feel like it’s tough whenever — it’s tough in the NFL. Let’s say that. The NFL is tough. I feel like each and every day we’re trying to figure out who we are, what our identity is. One game, you look at the first game, we had to throw a lot. The second game, we won running the ball. I feel like tonight it was collective. We had over 200 whatever — 210 rushing, almost 250 passing. It was good, but I feel like whenever we look at that second half, it’s so frustrating, because I’m like, man, we definitely could have pulled away with that game. It could have been a larger margin. Whenever we figure that out, I feel like that’s when we’re going to know who we are and what we’re able to do.”
On whether he had any moments during the offseason where he felt like the defense was going to be a problem: “For sure. First day, I was, like, these boys are flying around. Obviously, it’s the scheme, the coaches. But outside of the scheme, I feel like it’s the energy that those coaches bring. Brich (Jeff Ulbrich) and Rudy (Mike Rutenberg), all those guys on the defensive side, the energy that they bring each and every day. I’m talking about the defense is going 110 (mph) every day. It shows up in the game. I feel like the energy has been electric, and obviously, with the scheme on top of that and the guys flying around, of course, they’re going to do special things.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
