Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. got off to an impressive start in his first few games back from ACL surgery, passing for nine touchdowns and just one interception while leading the team to 3-2 record. However, Penix came crashing back to earth with a four-interception dud against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8.
Penix completed 8/24 passes for 125 yards and a passer rating of 12.0, which happened to come just one week after he won NFC Offensive Player of the Week. The Falcons are hoping to leave that collectively abysmal performance in Tampa.
The team is getting back to fundamentals going into this Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, Spain. While it's clear that both Penix's teammates and coaches are confident
that he can bounce back, those around the league are punishing the Falcons' QB1 for his poor showing in Week 8.
After rising all the way up to No. 12 in NFL.com's QB rankings, Penix dropped a brutal 14 spots down to No. 26 going into Week 9.
"I hate to rank Michael Penix Jr. so low, but I cannot excuse the four interceptions he threw on Sunday, regardless of the monsoon in which the Falcons and Bucs were playing," wrote NFL.com's Nick Shook. "It’s clear the weather created difficult conditions that affected Penix’s performance, but the gulf between Penix’s good (which is remarkably good) and bad is strikingly wide. That means his ranking will remain volatile until he can prove he can be a consistent quarterback."
Obviously, Penix had a bad game, but was it so bad that it should overshadow all the good he has done this season? Going from 12 to 26 is a pretty big drop for a single performance. After all, Penix has recorded a passer rating over 100 in four out of his six starts.
The third-year Falcons QB can shut a lot of people up if he can deliver the goods against the 5-2 Bengals on Sunday. The game starts at 9:30 a.m. ET Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Michael Penix takes a major tumble in latest NFL.com QB rankings
