ATLANTA — Two games into the Michael Penix Jr. era, it's clear the Atlanta Falcons are in good hands at quarterback.
Trouble is, there might not be enough time to salvage a trip to the playoffs.
A gut-wrenching loss to the Washington Commanders, who rallied from a 17-7 halftime deficit to pull out a 30-24 overtime victory Sunday night, dealt a huge blow to Atlanta's postseason hopes.
Now Tampa Bay controls its fate in the NFC South, needing only to win its final game against the lowly New Orleans Saints to lock up the division title.
If that happens, the Falcons (8-8) will spend a tortuous offseason wondering how it all slipped away. They were firmly in control of the division race with a 6-3 mark in early November, only to go on a four-game skid that eventually cost $180 million free-agent signee Kirk Cousins his job as the No. 1 quarterback.
No way this team should be missing the playoffs for seventh year in a row, but that very well could be the case.
“We have to be dominant,” running back Bijan Robinson said Monday. “There’s so much talent on this team, on this offense. The young talent that we have, man, it’s pretty special.”
In retrospect, it's clear the Falcons should have switched to Penix before the final three games of the regular season. The No. 8 overall pick has played extremely well in his first two starts. though it wasn't enough to knock off the Commanders and their rookie star, Jayden Daniels.
Even so, Atlanta might very well have beaten the Commanders — and needed only to win their final game to clinch a playoff spot — if not for some inexplicable time mismanagement by coach Raheem Morris.
He didn't use any of his three timeouts in the closing minutes of the first half, deciding to run the clock down and settle for a field goal instead of going for a touchdown that could've stretched the Atlanta lead to 21-7.
More troubling was Morris' decision not to call a timeout — he had two remaining — after Penix hooked up with Darnell Mooney on a 25-yard completion with 40 seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 24.
The Falcons allowed the clock to run down to 17 seconds before the offense finally got lined up for a play that resulted in an incompletion. After another incomplete pass, Morris finally called a timeout while the clock was not running.
A pair of penalties gave the Falcons a chance to win with a 56-yard field goal, but Riley Patterson's kick landed far short. The Commanders won the game in overtime without Atlanta ever getting another possession.
If Morris had used his two timeouts during that final drive of the fourth quarter, Atlanta would've had time to get Patterson in position for a more reasonable field-goal attempt.
The coach said Monday that he wanted to keep the clock running to prevent the Commanders from subbing in their pass-rushing specialists.
“You definitely go back and second-guess it when it doesn't work,” Morris said. “When it doesn't go right, I'm not gonna run away and blame it on anybody else. I apologize to our fans for not getting it done."
What’s working
In his second NFL start, Penix continued to impress with his arm strength and decision-making. He completed 19 of 35 passes for 223 yards, including his first career touchdown to cap a dramatic fourth-quarter drive that forced overtime. Penix converted twice on fourth-and-long with laser-like throws.
On the other side of the line, the Falcons recorded five sacks — one each from five players — to mark their fifth straight game with at least three QB takedowns. They have 21 sacks during that span, compared with an NFL-low 10 sacks over the first 11 games.
What needs help
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson inexplicably abandoned the running game after Robinson carried 13 times for 82 yards in the first half. Robinson had only four carries for 8 yards the rest of the way.
Stock up
WR Drake London had seven catches for 106 yards to reach 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career.
CB A.J. Terrell covered Commanders WR Terry McLaurin on 32 of his 34 routes, allowing just one reception for 5 yards on seven targets, according to Next Gen Stats. McLaurin had been averaging 4.9 receptions, 14.1 yards per reception and 68.6 yards per game.
Stock down
Morris' game management issues turned up the heat on a first-year coach who was hired with a clear mandate to get the Falcons back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. With that goal now in major jeopardy, it will be intriguing to see if there's any fallout should the Falcons come up short.
Injuries
The Falcons were shorthanded in the secondary with CBs Antonio Hamilton (quad) and Kevin King (concussion) sitting out. Atlanta reported no significant injuries during the game.
Key numbers
10:59 — Washington's advantage in time of possession in the second half, when the Commanders ran 41 plays to Atlanta's 24. The third quarter was particularly striking as the Commanders took 25 snaps while the Falcons went three-and-out in their lone possession.
Next steps
To claim the NFC South title and earn a home playoff game, the Falcons must defeat Carolina (4-12) on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and get an upset win from New Orleans (5-11) in its game at Tampa Bay that kicks off at the same time.
The first part of that equation is certainly doable. Atlanta beat the Panthers 38-20 when they met at Charlotte on Oct. 13. But counting on a Saints win is far more problematic. New Orleans has lost three in a row, been outscored 59-10 the last two weeks and looked dreadful again in a 25-10 home loss to the lowly Raiders.
