FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons have made some tough decisions in recent weeks, and they resulted in one of their best performances of the season.
Atlanta's 34-7 victory against the New York Giants was its largest point margin in a win since Week 12 of the 2020 season. It featured several defensive highlights, a standout performance from Bijan Robinson and a strong starting debut from the Falcons' rookie quarterback.
With an immensely important game on the horizon, let's take a minute for the good times to linger just a bit longer.
What was your favorite part of the Falcons' victory against the Giants?
McELHANEY: Call it a cop out but I am going to have to say Michael Penix Jr.'s starting debut.
As I wrote about in my postgame column, the Falcons needed a solid, confidence-building performance out of the rookie. They needed one not just in the context of the game, but for the context of the journey the organization has been on at the quarterback position since 2021. The Falcons have run out six starting quarterbacks in four seasons. Penix was No. 6.
Fortunately, however, the Falcons did get a solid, confidence-building performance out of Penix. Was it perfect? No. But did it show someone who already had a feel, knowledge and skill set to operate this offense cleanly? Yes. Yes it did.
There were a lot of positives to work off of based on that performance from Penix. After everything this organization has been through at the position since I have been covering this team, I will take a week of not having to really dig into the quarterback position too much.
McFADDEN: I figured Penix would get plenty of recognition here, so I want to talk about another aspect of the offense — the run game. While all of the attention has been paid to Atlanta's quarterback position this season, and understandably so, Bijan Robinson and the Falcons' offensive line has continued to be one of the most effective groups in the NFL.
Robinson has ascended to a new level of play in his second season, firmly embedding himself among the league's most elite runners. His vision is preternatural, his timing is impeccable, and his lateral agility is the best in the league.
Watching Robinson work in tandem with the five men in front of him to execute run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford's vision has been a true joy. Maybe my single favorite play on Sunday — and there were several of them — was watching Robinson casually stroll into the end zone for his second touchdown with not a defender in his vicinity.
The comfort level this run game has in executing outside- and mid-zone schemes is the product of multiple years working together, and a testament to everyone involved. It was on full display Sunday against the Giants and an absolute blast to watch.
WAACK: The excitement surrounding outside linebacker Matthew Judon's game was special.
Judon, most notably, had a third-down sack for a loss of 7 yards and an interception returned 27 yards for a touchdown.
Sure, safety Jessie Bates III also had a pick-six – for a longer 55 yards – but Bates has been picking off passes all season. That marked his fourth interception this year, the 24th of his career. It was his first returned for a touchdown this year, the third of his career.
Judon, on the other hand, hasn't had the kind of season he expected. The interception was the first-ever of his career. The sack was No. 4.5 of 2024 and No. 71 of his career.
The Falcons traded a 2025 third-round draft pick for Judon in the offseason in hopes he'd have the pass-rush success he did for the New England Patriots, specifically in 2021 and 2022, when he had 18 sacks between the two seasons. Unfortunately for Atlanta, he has not, as evidenced by his sack total so far.
"Judon, he's got a lot of criticism," Bates said. "And he's been the same guy since he walked in this building. Just to see him continue to go to work every single day, I'm excited for him."
All of his teammates were. That was clear as they celebrated with Judon in the end zone and in the postgame locker room last Sunday.
"Honestly, I'm not having a year of rushing the passer like I'm used to having," Judon said. "But they never get down on me, they don't look down on me. So, shoutout to my team. They're always saying, 'Man, we're going to do it with you.'"
SUBHAN: My favorite part of Sunday's win was how Michael Penix Jr. opened up the offense. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said the whole playbook would be available, and it was open.
The Falcons used motion at the snap on 81.0% of plays against the Giants, the most of any game this season. It was a 21.7% increase from their rate prior to Week 16, according to Next Gen Stats.
We saw it on the very first snap with a play-action attempt. While that pass to Ray-Ray McCloud landed incomplete, Penix and this offense continued with the creativity. Play action was something Raheem Morris noted as an area to improve after the Falcons' self-scouting week over the bye. You could tell it's something they tried to implement, especially in Kirk Cousins' last couple of starts, but it didn't translate into something sustainable.
Penix wasn't perfect with that aspect of the game, not that you'd expect that in his first start, but it looked more cohesive than it did previously. Three of the six play-action passes were incomplete (although watching it back, it's clear two were drops), but the Giants' defense didn't blow up the attempts the way others had in Weeks 14 and 15.
That command of the offense was impressive for a first start, let alone for a rookie. I'm excited to see Penix and this offense continue to get creative in the final two games of the regular season.
