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Inside The Huskies

Another Game Honor for Penix Was Long Time Coming

The former University of Washington quarterback's previous reward was Sugar Bowl MVP.
Dan Raley|
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the former Husky, throws one against the 49ers.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the former Husky, throws one against the 49ers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Much-decorated is one way to describe quarterback Michael Penix Jr.'s football career, yet it had been 34 months since his last accolade when the quarterback was selected as the NFC Offensive Player of the Week this past Tuesday.

The former University of Washington standout turned Atlanta Falcons leader was rewarded for guiding his NFL team past the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers 29-20 last weekend in the biggest city of the South.

Penix was at his dart-throwing best by completing 25 of 34 pinpoint passes for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions.

It was his first game-week honor since the left-handed signal-caller was named Sugar Bowl Most Valuable Player for leading the Huskies past Texas 37-31 in New Orleans on January 1, 2024, this after he was selected as the Pac-12 Championship MVP a month earlier for engineering a 34-31 win over Oregon in Las Vegas.

His previous Offensive Player of the Week Award came early in that 2023 season after Penix directed the Huskies past Michigan State 41-7 in East Lansing while completing 27 of 35 passes for 473 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions.

"It's awesome," the always humble Penix said this week. "You can't do that by yourself. It's shows the guys I have around me, the guys we have in this building. They make my job easier, but it's an awesome award, and I'm thankful for it."

Returning home that day, his wife Olivia got in on the excitement by having a banner and balloons hanging in their home to greet Penix when he walked through the door.

As good as he is as a quarterback, Penix was bereft of honors while paying his dues as an NFL rookie in his first pro season and suffering a season-ending knee injury in his second campaign.

Briefly injured this season, Penix has now directed the Falcons to three wins in his five starts, with his team sitting at 3-4 counting games where others opened at quarterback in his absence.

Michael Penix Jr. launches a pass in the 2023 UW-USC game in Los Angeles.
Michael Penix Jr. launches a pass in the 2023 UW-USC game in Los Angeles. | Dave Sizer photo

Beating San Francisco in his 17th NFL start, the lefty seemed to reassure his teammates and the Atlanta fan base more than ever with this outing that he was meant to lead this Falcons team to great things.

"You can sleep good at night when you have Michael Penix playing quarterback for you," Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said.

So far this season, Penix holds a 118.9 quarterback rating while throwing for 1,157 yards and 9 touchdowns.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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