Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t able to finish the Falcons’ 30-23 home loss in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night because of a rib injury, but he is confident the problem is not long term.
Penix was sacked by the Ravens’ Tavius Robinson with 19 seconds left in regulation and fumbled on the play. The Falcons recovered, but Penix went to the sideline for one play, with Tua Tagovailoa replacing him. Penix returned and threw an incompletion before Alanta punted to send the game into overtime.
Tagovailoa replaced Penix for the extra period, throwing an interception to end the game after Baltimore scored a touchdown on its possession.
“What I am going through right now I know, it’s not something that is going to be a long-term thing,” Penix, 26, said after the game through the team’s social media platforms. “But today, it took me out for the last couple of minutes of the game, but I’ll be all right.”
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Penix will undergo imaging on Monday. The coach said the Penix could not feel comfortable enough on the sideline to feel ready to return to the game after the Ravens’ 14-play, 68-yard scoring drive that lasted just over seven minutes.
Penix said he probably would have returned had the Falcons received the first possession of overtime, but he got cold while sitting on the bench and the pain worsened.
“It’s frustrating, but I think the biggest thing is just I want to be out there, especially in a big moment in a game like that,” Penix said. “I just felt like I needed to be out there.”
He was 19-of-32 passing for 240 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in his third game this season for Atlanta (2-3).
Penix missed the first two weeks of the season while recovering from a partially torn left ACL. In his first two games back, he completed 73.3% of his passes (33 of 45) for 479 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Falcons scored 80 points, more than any NFL team in that span, while beating New Orleans and Green Bay on the road.
He suffered a season-ending ACL tear Nov. 16, 2025, against the Carolina Panthers. It was the third time in his career Penix had a torn anterior cruciate ligament; his tore his right ACL twice in college.
The Falcons’ first-round pick (eighth overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft, Penix is 6-9 as a starter over parts of three seasons. He has played in 17 games and thrown for 3,476 yards, 15 TDs and seven interceptions.
