The Atlanta Falcons (3-7 straight up, 4-5-1 against the spread) lost their fifth consecutive game Sunday when Carolina captured a 30-27 victory in overtime as a 3.5-point road underdog.
Even worse for the Falcons, their two best offensive players – quarterback Michael Penix and WR Drake London – went down with knee injuries that are expected to keep them sidelined for multiple games.
In fact, Penix might be done for the season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Penix and the Falcons are seeking a second opinion, but Schefter’s sources are concerned that he might have sustained damage to his ACL.
The Falcons have announced that Penix will be placed on injured reserve, so he’s going to be out for at least four games.
As for London, he has a PCL strain that will keep him out of Sunday’s game at New Orleans and potentially more. Before leaving yesterday’s contest, London had seven receptions for 119 yards.
In nine games this year, London has 60 catches for 810 yards and six TDs. He’s had at least 104 receiving yards in five games this season, including each of the last three contests.
The Falcons had a 21-10 lead in the third quarter when Penix went down yesterday. He had connected on 13-of-16 throws for 175 yards. Backup QB Kirk Cousins struggled in relief, completing only 6-of-14 passes for 48 yards.
For the season, Penix has completed 166-of-276 passes (60.1%) for 1,982 yards with a 9/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has 70 rushing yards and one TD on 21 attempts for a 3.3 yards-per-carry average.
As a rookie in 2024, Penix started Atlanta’s last three games and made five overall appearances. He connected on 58.1 percent of his passes for 775 yards with a 3/3 TD-INT ratio.
Penix was named the starter last year when Cousins was benched after throwing only one TD compared to nine interceptions in a five-game stretch. During the offseason, the Falcons opted to keep Cousins, who had signed a $100 million guaranteed contract before the 2024 campaign.
In three games this year and one start, Cousins has completed 32-of-52 throws (61.5%) for 250 yards without a TD or interception. He started in a 34-10 home loss vs. Miami last month when Penix was nursing a bone bruise in his foot.
Penix suffered three different season-ending injuries while in college at Indiana. He tore his ACL in 2018 and 2020, and he also needed season-ending shoulder surgery in 2019.
As of Monday afternoon, most books had Atlanta as a pick ’em at New Orleans. The total was 38.5 points.
The Falcons have lost back-to-back games in overtime and dropped a 24-23 decision at New England earlier this month when they missed a tying extra point with 4:40 remaining.
This recent slide should have second-year head coach Raheem Morris on a boiling hot seat, but it’s unclear if that’s the case. He has an 11-16 record with the Falcons to date.
Atlanta general manager Terry Fontenot needs to go, too. Since taking over in 2021, the Falcons have yet to make the playoffs.
In fact, they haven’t been to the postseason since 2017. Owner Arthur Blank did a fantastic job for the organization in the first decade after buying the team in 2002, but he’s made a number of bad hires in the last decade.
Blank has also inexplicably kept current CEO and former GM Rich McKay employed about 15 years too long.