Michael Penix Jr. had a few good plays and some regrettable misses in his NFL preseason debut

In his NFL debut against the Miami Dolphins on Friday night, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t really auditioning for the here and now. This was about the future as much or more than it was about the present.

Penix, selected eighth overall in the 2024 NFL draft out of Washington after the Falcons had already signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed, wasn’t fighting for a starting spot, or for his place on the roster. Head coach Raheem Morris and his staff wanted to see where the Washington alum was in his development. Penix is on the Aaron Rodgers/Jordan Love plan where he’ll sit for a while – maybe several years – before he gets his full opportunity to excel in the NFL.

Overall, Penix was happy with his performance in Atlanta’s 20-13 loss, though there was at least one throw he’d like back. He completed nine of 16 passes for 104 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and some meat left on the bone.

“I feel like I did okay,” Penix said after his entry into the NFL. “Some things that definitely… I want it to get better. I feel like I executed the offense the best that I could, and I definitely had one mistake, one mistake. The naked eye or the fans – they wouldn’t notice it, but in our offense, I know it.”

Penix was referring to a checkdown where he looked the wrong way; that may have been this 9-yard pass to running back Jase McClellan with 14:41 left in the second quarter. Penix was eyeing receiver Chris Blair on one 15-yard cut route over the middle of the field when he might have been better off going with receiver Casey Washington on the other 15-yard cut route to the right boundary.

The play Morris said after the game that he would have liked back for his young quarterback was the easy out route to rookie receiver Casey Washington with 7:39 left in the first quarter.

“I felt really good about Michael,” Morris concluded. “He wants one of those throws back, that out that he threw on the sideline, but he was able to go through some progressions really be able to progress — we get a little pass-happy with him, obviously being your first-round quarterback, but it was fun to see him go out there and execute some of the pass plays and be able to get some of the stuff done and really lead the offense and get them in and out of the huddle. Pretty much — a pretty good night for him, and I was pretty pleased with what he was able to do.”

Penix struggled more than anybody would have liked on those outside throws, especially on several attempts to Washington, who has become an early Penix favorite. Washington, the sixth-round pick from Illinois, caught three passes on nine targets for 27 yards, but there was a lot more just out of his reach.

Washington caught my attention earlier this year as a big, fast ball-winner, and I was surprised that he lasted as long as he did in the draft.

“You always want to get a good evaluation of the guys you draft,” Morris said about that connection. “When you get a chance to get it to your first-round [pick] in Michael, and you get a chance to evaluate Casey a little bit, you want to give him some opportunities and get the ball out that way.”

One positive example of Penix going through his progressions (as Morris noted) was this 16-yard completion to Washington with 7:45 left in the first quarter. The Falcons dialed up a Sean McVay staple – mirrored intermediate cut routes with a front side in-cut underneath. No surprise there, as new Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was a McVay assistant with the Los Angeles Rams from 2019-2023.

Penix first read the frontside out-cut to tight end Ross Dwelley, decided against it, used a pump fake to freeze linebacker Ezekiel Vandenburgh, and hit Washington on the backside dig. Penix’s work with progressions didn’t always pan out, but he showed an understanding of more than just the simple stuff. That was a great Quarters-beater, and in an NFL where Cover-4 is more of a thing than ever before, having a quarterback who can execute it is a plus.

Penix appreciates everything about Washington, though the on-field results didn’t quite play out the first time around.

“Man, he’s a worker,” Penix said of Washington after the game. “He’s a guy that wants to work each and every day he comes in. We built that trust. We built that trust through the offseason, just continuing to get work even on the off-days. He works extremely hard. Man, you should have seen his smile when he first touched the field. He was in his happy place. I ain’t seen no smile that big. He was excited to be out there. Man, he made plays whenever the ball comes his way. For me, I’ve got to find a way to get it to him.”

Hopefully, that Penix/Washington tandem will pay off in a clearer way in the Falcons’ second preseason game this Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens. Overall, the Falcons should be encouraged by two things – Michael Penix’s ability to handle an NFL offense with some wild vertical throws that don’t have worrisome precedent, and the addition of Casey Washington to a roster already filled with offensive weapons that have all kinds of untapped potential.