When the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears take the field inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday for their Week 6 matchup, two of the best players in Washington Huskies history will suit up in the contest.
After suffering a rib injury that forced him out of Atlanta's 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will start for the home team. In three starts so far this season, the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 draft has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 719 yards and 3 touchdowns with an interception, as he's injected life into the Falcons' offense.
"They're good,"Penix said of his injury on Wednesday. "They get better every day. I felt good today at practice, and I know I'm going to continue
to feel good. I just got to stay on top of my rehab and just make sure I'm doing all the right things."
On the other side will be his former top pass catcher, who was selected with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Rome Odunze.
Through the first five games of his third NFL campaign, the 2023 Consensus All-American has pulled in 17 catches for a team-high 273 yards and has yet to find the end zone, as the Bears have started three different quarterbacks this season while dealing with an injury to the top pick in the 2024 draft, Caleb Williams.
This will be the pair's first meeting at the NFL level, after Odunze pulled in 167 catches for 2,785 yards and 20 touchdowns over their two years together on Montlake, as the Huskies went 25-3 between the 2022 and 2023 seasons and made a run to the national championship during the '23 campaign.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Two Washington football superstars to face off for first time in NFL
