Why Falcons didn't play Michael Penix Jr. on Saturday, plus 5 more thoughts

Not only did Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. not play in the second preseason game on Saturday, he apparently won’t play again in the preseason. That was the word from coach Raheem Morris on Saturday after the Falcons fell 13-12 to the Ravens in Baltimore.

“Mike showed us last week enough that we don’t have to play him in the preseason,” Morris said.

If that decision holds through Atlanta’s preseason finale against Jacksonville at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Friday night, it would mean the No. 8 pick of the 2024 draft, whom the Falcons are counting on to be their backup quarterback this year and their replacement plan for Kirk Cousins whenever that time comes, will finish his first professional preseason with the 16 pass attempts he had last week in Miami.

“Last week, we wanted to get him out there and get a feel for what he was in a live game, wanted to see him be able answer questions and talk about it on the sideline, he did a lot of those things,” Morris said. “We saw enough last week with Michael Penix in live stuff.”

Penix started the preseason opener against the Dolphins, finishing 9-for-16 for 104 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. It was assumed he would start again against the Ravens because the Falcons are trying to develop him into their quarterback of the future and practice repetitions for backups will be limited once the season begins. However, Morris believes the way the team practices simulates game situations well enough to prepare Penix.

“You do everything that you would do in a game without getting hit,” the coach said. “We feel really good on where we’re at with Michael.”

With Penix sitting out, veteran quarterback Taylor Heinicke got the start and finished 8-for-16 for 114 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions (73.4 passer rating). Heinicke entered training camp understanding he could climb no higher than No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart after the Falcons signed Cousins and drafted Penix.

That makes Heinicke a trade option for Atlanta, which could coax a late-round draft pick out of a team that is uncomfortable with its backup quarterback situation heading into the season.

“That looked like Taylor Heinicke today,” Morris said Saturday. “That’s the guy that we know, the baller, the instinctual football player who can lead an offense and get the ball down the field. That was Heinicke. Tough player, good throws, tough, smart, knows what to do and how to do it.”

Heinicke’s first preseason game this year — 4-for-11 for 11 yards against the Dolphins — probably didn’t excite any potential trade partners. However, Henicke had more practice reps last week than he had the first two weeks of camp, which might have been an attempt to make sure he was ready to put his best foot forward against the Ravens.

Henicke has started 30 games in his six-year NFL career and has a career passer rating of 84.2.

Here comes @ruke33! 😤

📺 FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/RVjwoTSMoR

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 17, 2024

Another big day for Blair

Chris Blair seems to have taken a firm hold of the sixth spot in Atlanta’s wide receiver rotation. The third-year pro leads the Falcons with six catches for 136 yards in the preseason after catching four passes for 91 yards against the Ravens. Through Saturday’s early games, no player in the league had more receiving yards this preseason.

Most impressively, Blair has picked up big chunks of yards at a time. He is averaging 22.7 yards per catch and has catches of 41, 32, 27 and 21 yards in the last two games. Blair, who has spent time on the practice squads in Atlanta and Green Bay, doesn’t have a catch in a regular-season game.

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Koo’s kicking misses

Younghoe Koo missed three field goals — from 49, 45 and 40 yards — on Saturday. Koo is fourth in the NFL in career field goal percentage (88.5 percent), and he has hit 86.5 percent of his kicks in each of the last two seasons. All three of Saturday’s misses were barely wide left.

“He didn’t have a great day,” Morris said. “I have so much confidence in Younghoe that he’s going to go back to the lab and get it right and do what he needs to do to get ready. He’s mentally tough, he’s sharp, he’ll bounce back this week and be ready to go.”

Koo hit two field goals and had a tackle on kickoff coverage.

“He did have a nice tackle,” Morris said. “I don’t ever want to see that happen again.”

The holdouts

The Falcons held out 36 players Saturday. The list included all the expected offensive and defensive starters and many top backups. The fact that defensive tackle Kentavius Street and cornerback Antonio Hamilton Sr. were on the list is probably a good sign for their 53-man roster prospects.

“That’s how we go about our business so we can mitigate the injury factor,” Morris said. “We had a tough week of practice.”

Old friends reunite! @Lj_era8 | @man_dammn pic.twitter.com/tLIGAa77nV

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 17, 2024

The new guys

Outside linebacker Matthew Judon, whom the Falcons acquired Wednesday in a trade with New England, joined the team in Baltimore for the game but did not suit up. Judon was a fifth-round pick by the Ravens in 2016 and spent part of the pregame and postgame saying hello to old friends.

Safety Justin Simmons — who agreed to a one-year, free-agency deal with Atlanta on Thursday — has not signed his contract yet because of travel logistics and was not with the team in Baltimore.

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Extra points

Natrone Brooks keeps popping up on defense and special teams. There’s probably not a 53-man roster spot for Brooks, but he’s a strong bet to be added to the practice squad unless another team picks him up. … Rookie wide receiver Casey Washington has been targeted 15 times in two games but has only three catches. … Rookie defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro had a sack and rookie defensive end Brandon Dorlus had a fumble recovery. … The Falcons had 31 carries for 151 yards. … Wide receiver Jesse Matthews had five catches for 38 yards.

(Photo of Taylor Heinicke: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)