Michael Penix Jr played his first game since tearing his left ACL last November, and Atlanta responded with a 35 to 14 win at Lambeau Field that few expected.
How did he play?
Eighteen completions on 25 attempts for 256 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The interception came on the opening series. What followed was the more instructive part. Across the second and third quarters he completed 13 of 15 passes, converted all five third downs he faced and threw a 5 yard touchdown to Austin Hooper with under a minute left in the half. He said the rhythm arrived after the interception.
How long was the absence?
Roughly ten months. The injury came in Week 11 last November and required surgery. He had hoped to be available by the end of the preseason in August and was not, a disappointment teammates described as visible at the time. Michael Penix Jr returned Thursday having missed the entire offseason program and the opening two weeks of the season.
What had Atlanta been doing without him?
Struggling badly. Tua Tagovailoa was named the Week 1 starter, then injured his oblique three days before the game. Third string quarterback Cooper Rush filled in while dealing with back spasms. The Falcons scored 16 points across two games, the fewest in the league, and went 27 consecutive series to open the season without taking a red zone snap, tied for the second longest such run in 45 years.
Who else contributed?
Bijan Robinson carried 29 times for 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Drake London caught nine passes for a career high 194 yards. London has been the primary target throughout Michael Penix Jr’s first two seasons, and the connection resumed immediately rather than needing time to rebuild.
What did the coach say?
Kevin Stefanski praised the rehabilitation rather than the performance, describing extra weight room work, treatment sessions and running done with only trainers and medical staff present. He called the result something to build on. Coaches emphasising unseen work after a return game is conventional, though the ten month timeline gives it more weight than usual here.
Is one game enough to judge?
No, and he said so himself. Michael Penix Jr called the performance far from perfect and pointed to film review. Atlanta sits at 1 and 2, the opponent was struggling offensively by its own coach’s account, and a single result does not establish that a quarterback returning from a major knee injury will hold up across a season.
What does it change?
The floor. An offense averaging eight points per game was not going to win regardless of scheme, and restoring a starting quarterback lifts that baseline immediately. Whether it lifts the ceiling depends on durability over the next three months.
What comes next?
A season’s worth of evidence. The encouraging signals were the third down conversion rate, the accuracy after settling and the absence of hesitation on the knee. Those are the things to track week to week rather than the scoreline.
