The Falcons have already made some changes after Sunday’s blowout 30-0 loss to the division-rival Panthers.
But one thing the club will not do in response to that game is replace its starting quarterback.
Second-year QB Michael Penix Jr. completed 18-of-36 passes for 172 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in the contest — one of which was returned for a touchdown.
In his Monday press conference, head coach Raheem Morris noted that, for whatever reason, Penix didn’t seem like himself on Sunday.
“He was off,” Morris said. “I don’t want to take away the fact that he did not play well. But there are definitely ways to get him going. He heals himself, he has high standards for himself. So yesterday, he definitely got down on himself. Yesterday, he was definitely not his normal, happy, competitive self. Got a little down on himself, got a little upset. And there’s different ways that we can help him bring him back, and there’s other people on our team that can bring him back.
“He has a ‘C’ on his chest for a reason, because he’s going to walk down the sideline and bring us back together for him. But that’s a lot of stress on a young quarterback, and we can help him do some of those things, and without a doubt we’ll do those things moving forward to get him ready to go.”
Morris noted that he immediately saw Penix take accountability for his performance after the game, saying that the quarterback is particularly critical of himself.
Going forward, Morris said he feels good about the way Penix will respond.
“I mean, he’s a big-time competitor,” Morris said. “So, I’m actually looking forward to it. You never want to say you’re happy it happened, but I can’t wait to see the response. I’m actually more encouraged with Michael Penix’s behavior today and his movement today for this franchise and for our team than ever. I can’t wait until Wednesday.
“Confidence is high. Confidence is very high with this man. He’s our guy, man, and you’re going to have these games. You don’t want to have them a lot, but you’re going to have them. … We’ve got a quarterback in the back that it’s happened to, and those things can happen. But, I’ve got a lot of confidence that he’s going to bounce back and be ready to deal. I’ve seen him have a bad practice. That’s the first time we’ve seen him have a bad game.”
In three games this season, Penix has completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 605 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
