Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. showed strong confidence in his coaches after their Week 6 win. But in Week 7, the San Francisco 49ers delivered a reality check. They defeated the Atlanta Falcons 20-10 and rattled Penix Jr., who was seen holding his leg during the game.

“I don’t even know what happened…just got rolled up on. I feel good right now, and we just keep it pushing,” the QB said in the post-game conference. Overall, he claimed that he got caught up in the O-Zone formation and would have to see the film to see what exactly happened.

At the 1:56 mark in the 4th quarter, they were on 2nd and 10 down at the Falcons 41. Michael Penix Jr. took time to pass the ball. Linebacker Tatum Benthune broke through the Falcons’ offensive protection and grabbed the QB by his leg. DE Mykel Williams also reached the rival signal caller and took him down to the ground. He appeared to struggle with a slight limp.

Against the 49ers, he had a mixed performance, completing 21 of 38 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown, finishing with a quarterback rating of 83.3. He didn’t throw any interceptions but took two sacks, losing 11 yards in total. On the ground, Penix wasn’t much of a factor. He ran the ball 2 times for 6 yards.

For the fans, the limping was a worrying sign. He has a major injury history. NFL injury expert Jesse Morse revealed that Penix Jr. has torn his right ACL twice. So, if he goes down, it would mean a major blow to the Falcons’ wonderful show until week 7 of the 2025 season. They are third in the NFC South with 3 wins and 4 losses.

Everyone wanted to know what the update was after the game. And the head coach, Raheem Morris, provided it.

Raheem Morris – Michael Penix Jr. seems fine

Morris also addressed the situation in the post-game press conference. “We don’t know that yet. Obviously, we got to let him get it evaluated. He gave me the thumbs up on the sideline when we were asking him. So he was okay to finish. We’ll see where he is tomorrow,” Morris said, confirming the quarterback’s status.

Penix Jr. reportedly told coaches he was fine, but further evaluation is pending. The coach would hope that the injury isn’t too serious.

Michael Penix Jr. has been the main quarterback this season. In six games, he has completed 98 of 157 passes for 1,168 yards. His completion rate is 62.4%, and he averages about 233 yards per game. Penix has thrown 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He’s been sacked 7 times and has a quarterback rating of 85.6.

His backup, Kirk Cousins, has played only a small role so far. In one game, he completed 5 of 7 passes for 29 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. He wasn’t sacked and finished with a rating of 78.9. Penix has clearly been running the offense, while Cousins has stepped in as a steady backup when needed.

On October 19, the Niners RB Christian McCaffrey single-handedly destroyed them. “McCaffrey was able to run it and catch it on the defense today. We got (to) fix the problems,” Morris said about the rival RB at the conference.

On the ground, McCaffrey carried the ball 24 times for 129 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and scored 2 rushing touchdowns. It’s almost double the rushing yards by the entire Falcons’ team (62) and more than all other Niners players combined.

Overall, the game had moments where fans feared and some where they hoped for a miracle!