Atlanta’s first two games and its last two games look like they belong to different offenses.
With Michael Penix starting at quarterback, the Falcons are 2-0 and averaging 40.0 points per game. Without him, they averaged 8.0. That split is stark enough on its own, but it becomes more interesting when one of Atlanta’s veterans puts it in plain language.
“Obviously, when you got [Penix] back there dealing, it’s a whole different team,” Jessie Bates said.
The numbers back up the feeling. Penix has been efficient enough to rank fifth among the 42 quarterbacks who have thrown at least 15 passes this season, with a 113.1 passer rating. He has also been hard to bring down: Penix has been sacked only once while throwing 45 passes, and he played most of the second game after the Falcons lost starting left tackle Jake Matthews to an injury.
Atlanta’s offense has not just scored more with Penix. It has spread the production around.
Bijan Robinson has rushed for 339 yards and four touchdowns in the two games with Penix. Brian Robinson has added 117 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries in those same back-to-back wins. Drake London, meanwhile, has 14 catches for 290 yards in two games with Penix after managing six catches for 80 yards in the two games without him.
That production has come in wins over Green Bay, 35-14, and the Saints, 45-24. It also came after Penix was cleared to return from last season’s torn ACL, a comeback that has quickly become the center of Atlanta’s early-season story.
The contrast before and after Penix is hard to miss. The Falcons’ offense was last in the league in the two games without him, and the two quarterbacks who played before Penix were dead last in passer rating: Rush at 41st with a 42.5 rating, and Jack Strand at 42nd with a 35.1 rating.
Penix has not solved every question about Atlanta, but the early evidence is clear enough to frame the bigger one: if the Falcons keep looking like this with him, how much of their identity is really tied to whether he is on the field?