Michael Penix Jr. couldn’t finish the Sunday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens after getting drilled in the ribs late; he actually returned briefly after Tua Tagoviloa took the field for a single play but was in too much pain to return for overtime. The worry was that Penix, who despite some very real hiccups against Baltimore has given this passing game a massive boost over the past three weeks, might miss a game or multiple games owing to his injury.
The team hasn’t confirmed this yet, but Adam Schefter reports that it’s a relatively minor rib injury—as minor as those get, given that they’re not particularly fun to go through—and Penix may actually be able to start in Week 6. The days ahead will tell the tale.
This is a relief for multiple reasons. The first is that you could tell when he took the hit that Penix was hurt, and the fact that Tagovailoa had to finish the game meant we were bracing for Atlanta’s starter to be out a while. Ideally he would not miss the Chicago game given that the Bears have a very gettable pass defense, but even if he does, the fact that this doesn’t seem likely to stretch out multiple weeks is a major relief. The second is that not having Penix on the field opens the door to a horror show of backup quarterback options headlined by Tua, who has as many interceptions in three passes (1) as Penix has in three weeks and 77 attempts. Perhaps Tagovailoa will look a lot better not having to come into the game cold, but I’m not particularly eager to find out.
Kevin Stefanski said he’ll likely have an update on Wednesday, but it sounds like the Falcons and Penix may have dodged a more serious, long-term outcome here. We’ll learn more as the week rolls on.
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