The marquee matchup
It was funny. When the decision to flex this game to Sunday night was announced a couple weeks ago, it was met with lackluster.
The Falcons were just coming off a 15-9 win against the Raiders on Monday Night Football. Though they won the game, it didn’t feel like a win as Atlanta would go on to replace Kirk Cousins with Michael Penix Jr. a day later. When that decision was made, it changed the excitement level for this matchup. Now, Sunday Night Football is all about the Jayden Daniels vs. Michael Penix Jr. storyline.
What’s so interesting about these two quarterbacks is that their stories up to the moment they were drafted actually ran parallel. As Amna Subhan wrote this week, both found success after transferring prior to their junior year. Penix went from Indiana to Washington, putting the Huskies in the playoff spotlight. Daniels went from Arizona State to LSU, winning the 2023 Heisman Trophy.
They were coveted through the pre-draft process, and worked out together often in Southern California during that time. They built a bond, and both became top-10 draft picks — Daniels to the Commanders at No. 2 overall and Penix to the Falcons at No. 8.
That is when their paths diverged.
Daniels was set to be “the guy” in Washington. He took all of the first-team reps from the moment he was drafted to the point we sit at right now, with Daniels quarterbacking a high-powered Commanders offense to a top-5 statistical standing and a 10-5 record.
Meanwhile, Penix was set to be the heir apparent to Kirk Cousins. If all went to the Falcons’ plan, Penix would be No. 2 in Atlanta for a few years as Cousins led the offense. That plan has changed, and Penix is coming off his first start, a solid one the Falcons needed.
But he doesn’t have the professional reps and in-the-clutch performances Daniels has to this point. They both will start Sunday night, but their stories since the end of April couldn’t be any more different.
The measuring stick of progress
An early blight on this Falcons defensive resume was its inability to consistently affect the quarterback. Since the bye week, that has not been a problem for this unit. Prior to their win against the Giants last week, the Falcons were the only defense in the league with a streak of four sacks in three consecutive games.
The Falcons were one sack away from keeping that streak going last week, they did…
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