ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. made his “Monday Night Football” debut and the result was everything the Atlanta Falcons could have wanted.
Penix, along with incredible performances by running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London, led the Falcons to a 24-14 win over the Buffalo Bills at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Penix was 20-of-32 for 250 yards and a touchdown. Robinson had an 81-yard touchdown run as part of 238 scrimmage yards, the second-highest single-game total this season in the NFL. London had 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons are now 3-2, with the three victories over teams that were in the playoffs last season: the Bills, Washington Commanders and Minnesota Vikings.
“It showed that we’re one of the ones,” Penix said of Monday’s win. “This team is really good. This team is really legit.”
The Falcons have not made the playoffs nor had a winning record since 2017.
“There is no secret,” Falcons second-year coach Raheem Morris said. “We want to be a playoff organization. We want to be able to go compete in those types of games and we played one tonight and there’s going to be no secret. Nobody is going to shy away from those moments. We’ve got to go do it, but those are the moments you want. Those are the moments you strive for.
“Those are the things you dream about from a coaching standpoint, a playing standpoint, an ownership standpoint — all of those things we want to be a part of and I think that was just something that we wanted to go out there show tonight.”
As good as the offense looked, the defense might have been better. The Falcons blitzed Bills quarterback Josh Allen constantly — 71% of the time in the second half – and pressured him on 47.1% of his dropbacks, per ESPN Research. The Falcons lead the league in yards allowed per game (253.4) and are second in the NFL in yards gained per game (378.8).
Robinson came in leading the league in yards from scrimmage per game (146). He is now only the second player to reach 450 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards through five games in NFL history, joining Thurman Thomas in 1991, per ESPN Research.
“He’s the best player in football,” Morris said of Robinson. “I’ve said it multiple times, I can’t say it enough. You can always have your pick. You can always go out there and figure out who you want to vote for, but in my opinion, he’s the best player in football.”
Penix said the Falcons’ offense still has yet to show its potential. Atlanta led 21-7 at halftime and scored only three points in the second half.
“I feel like we have more in the tank and for us to go out there and win that football game with the second half like that, I feel like we had a big lull,” Penix said. “I feel like it is 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.”
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