Ex-Husky Quarterbacks Deliver in Sunday NFL Outings

Sunday was a very good day to be a former University of Washington quarterback in the National Football League.

Twenty-one months after losing to Michigan and fellow quarterback JJ McCarthy in the College Football Playoff national championship game, Michael Penix Jr. got a certain measure of payback by outdueling McCarthy in their first meeting as pro players.

In a game heavy on field goals, Penix kept his Atlanta Falcons pointed in the right direction throughout a 22-6 victory over McCarthy's Minnesota Vikings in a match-up shown by NBC to a national audience and held in Minneapolis.

Several hours earlier, Jake Browning -- who played three starting quarterbacks before Penix at the UW -- came in as an emergency fill-in for starting quarterback Joe Burrows and led the Cincinnati Bengals to a 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in that Ohio city.

Penix wasn't asked to do a lot in his fifth NFL start, just not make mistakes in a defensive-minded struggle.

He completed 13 of 21 passes for 135 yards in leading the Falcons (1-1) and setting up five field goals by newly signed kicker Parker Romo and a 5-yard touchdown run by teammate Tyler Allgeier in the fourth quarter to wrap things up.

Jake Browning (6) celebrates his game-winning touchdown run for the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Penix was lauded for his quick release and his unflappable poise in the high-pressure showdown with McCarthy.

"I know I'm not perfect, but I want to be," Penix said the previous week following a season-opening 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Sunday afternoon, Browning was summoned in the second quarter when Burrow reportedly tore toe ligaments and was lost for what could be three months, requiring the former Husky to be ready to go without warning.

He had stepped in for Burrow before, starting seven games in 2023 when the No. 1 guy suffered a season-ending wrist injury.

This time, Browning scored on a 1-yard sneak with 18 seconds left to win the game, capping a 93-play drive. He also threw a pair of touchdown passes, completing 21 of 32 passes for 241 yards, and withstood 3 interceptions.

"I convince myself every Saturday that this will happen and when it does, it surprised everyone else − not me," Browning said. "That's my job as a backup, to be ready for that. My worst nightmare would be getting thrown out there and not being ready. I didn't have my best game, but I was ready enough to win."

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