Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. on his play: ‘I’m human. I’m not perfect.’

He completed just 12 of 28 passes for his lowest completion percentage (42.9%) in the 11 starts. He also had a passer rating of 76, his second-lowest output.

In the previous meeting with the Panthers, on Sept. 21, he had his lowest passer rating (40.5) in a 30-0 loss and was pulled late in the game.

Here’s what Penix Jr. said Wednesday on his play and support system:

Q: Y’all have had some time to think about it and look at the third-down issues. Has there been one thing that you all can fix, or how will you all try to address the third down moving forward?

A: “First thing, executing, but also just owning the looks that the defense is giving us. I don’t feel like they showed us anything new or anything unexpected this past week. But, just owning those looks and doing a good job of, for me, knowing the answers to those looks and being able to put us in a position to be able to convert those third downs, for sure. So, that’s something that’s definitely an emphasis and something that we want to fix.”

Q: Has there been a common theme throughout? It looked like, you know, you had three sacks. It looked like miscommunication on one of them. But has there been, if y’all looked at all of them, has there been a common thread or theme throughout?

A: “Yeah, just executing the simple things, the things that we go over each and every day just so that whenever we do get in those situations, we’re at our best. We weren’t at our best in those moments, and that’s what we’ve got to fix and get it right moving forward.”

Q: (Coach) Raheem (Morris) told us that he had a conversation with you (on Tuesday) about being so hard on yourself. Like I said, I’ve never seen you like that after a loss. You took a lot of the blame, and he said he felt like he needed to talk to you to kind of deal with the ups and downs. So, what was that like? Did you kind of learn from maybe not being so hard on yourself what to do?

A: “Yeah. I mean, that’s just how I grew up. I feel like my dad, he pushed me into being physically and mentally tough for any situation. That’s just kind of how I grew up. I was always tough on myself because I felt like I was always supposed to put our team in position to win football games. Whenever I’m not completing wide-open passes, I feel like I’m letting the team down. What you’re talking about with Raheem, we did have that conversation and it did help to hear that from him. Obviously, knowing that, everybody in the building, they understand what’s going on outside of what the people outside might not understand as far as what’s going on and why we can’t be what we want to be. So, Raheem gave me that perspective and just told me to just give myself some grace and not be so hard on myself.”

Q: Raheem talked about your connection with Darnell Mooney. How do you feel that is at this point in the season?

A: “Yeah, it’s got a lot of room to grow and we will. I’ve got all the trust and faith in Mooney in the world. The work that he puts in each and every day allows me to have that faith and it don’t waver in any way, shape or form.”

Q: Is that something that you can do in practice or is that something that has to happen on Sundays?

A: “Taking it one step at a time, not trying to answer and solve every problem at one time … so that we can build up that chemistry. Obviously, we’re midseason. You’re probably thinking it should have been built by now. But, at the same time, it’s football, you know. It’s not always going to go the way we want it to go. There’s always room for improvement.”

Q: You being so hard on yourself, Mike. Would you say that it has affected you sometimes on the field?

A: “(No), see, I don’t let that stuff affect me on the field. When I’m on the field, all that stuff goes away.”

Q: He also made the point that none of us know what it’s like to be an NFL quarterback. I would imagine that feels like a lot of weight on your shoulders. How do you deal with that part of it, internalize all of that?

A: “Trusting in God, trusting my faith, trusting my preparation each and every week and just going out there and having fun. I don’t play for anybody’s expectations. I don’t play for anybody’s pats on the back. I play for God’s glory and that alone. As long as I keep that mindset and continue to keep God first, I know everything’s going to be OK.”

Q: Is there something that you struggled with that feels uncharacteristic to you where you think to yourself, “I’ve made that play. I’ve done that a thousand times. Why didn’t I do it right there?”

A: “No, I just hit on it with the first question. It was just kind of the open-guy thing, you know, hitting open receivers. That’s about it. I feel like I’ve just got to do a better job with that.”

Q: Is footwork an issue there? Is that something that you’re focused on?

A: “It’s a combination of a lot of things, but at the end of the day, I’ve got to make it happen, whatever it is.”

Q: What do you think of Tyler Allgeier’s performance? Raheem said that he’s probably the least-talked-about superstar on this team. So, what can you say about Tyler so far?

A: “Man, he’s awesome. He’s great. He’s amazing. I know Raheem hit on it before to media like this. We don’t have like a 1 and a 2. It’s a 1A, 1B, type of deal. Man, he’s amazing. The physicality that he brings, just the way that he runs is different. It’s different.”

Q: You’re halfway through your first year as a starter in the NFL. Do you feel like you’re any different now than you were when this whole journey started just last season?

A: “Yeah, for sure. You’re growing, you’re learning. You’re seeing more ball each and every week, seeing a lot of different, unscouted looks. I feel like seeing the ball is definitely something that’s going to help you grow each and every year. So, I definitely do feel like I’ve been seeing it a lot better and feeling a lot more confident.”

Q: Have you seen a trend specifically for like what defenses are throwing at you versus, I don’t know, how much tape you watch of other quarterbacks, but versus yourself or your opponents?

A: “(No I haven’t) seen a trend. I feel like every week we went into a game, whatever we saw on film, that’s what they brought. It was never like, ‘Oh, they brought more of something because it was me.’ So, I wouldn’t say I’ve seen any trends.”

Q: When things are not going so well, you’re targeted for criticism. During this four-game skid, have you been trying to insulate yourself from that type of social media or anything else?

A: “I’m human. I’m not perfect. I know that. Even though, like we talked about, just being hard on myself, but at the end of the day, I’m still human. Each and every person on this field is human. So, at the end of the day, that stuff (doesn’t) matter. I know who I am inside. At the end of the day, football isn’t my identity. I’m a son of God and that’s what I believe in. I just walk by faith and not by sight and not by what other people are saying.”

Q: Do you feel like this offense could kind of click into place and things just start to flow a lot more seamlessly at some point?

A: “Yeah. Why not this week? We’ve got to figure it out. We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to get it going.”

Q: I know you lean on your faith, but who do you lean on to help you? We haven’t played quarterback. So, do you lean on, like, a former quarterback or your coaches to kind of just help you kind of assess things, good and bad?

A: “Are you saying as far as on the field?”

Q: Both, if they help you mentally and physically.

A: “Mentally, my fiancee. She’s always there for me. So, I know whenever I get home, it doesn’t matter how I play. She’s always gonna be there for me. She’s going to have a smile on her face and give me a hug and make me feel good no matter what. But as far as physically, the on-the-field stuff, it’s nobody that I’ll talk to like as far as another quarterback or anything like that. I do have people reach out to me. I do have quarterback coaches back at home that reach out to me as well, tell me, ‘Hey, like, you need to clean this up, clean that up, you know, and everything will be good.’ So, those guys help me as far as that, too. So, again, shout out to them.”