Falcons Named Big Winners after Rebound vs. Colts, Penix Injury News

The Atlanta Falcons were fairly downtrodden after a poor showing to open the preseason against the Denver Broncos. However, after a productive pair of joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts, the mood changed dramatically after the Falcons reserves dominated their counterparts in Indianapolis.

Sure, there weren't a lot of starters playing for either side, but there were still reasons for Falcons fans to be excited watching their team on Saturday afternoon.

From special teams improvements to undrafted rookie Jack Strand putting on a show, the Falcons came home feeling good about themselves. NFL media took notice on Saturday, and CBS Sports' Garrett Podell and Zachary Pereles named the Falcons one of the big winners after preseason Week 2.

"Preseason scores do not matter at all, but there might not have been a single team needing a good week more than the Falcons. Atlanta got walloped by Denver, 27-7, last week, hours after the news came out that James Pearce Jr. was suspended eight games. Tua Tagovailoa looked awful, the defense looked awful, and the vibes were bad," wrote Podell and Pereles.

Winning cures all, and the Falcons didn't just win on Saturday; they showed off their newfound depth, dominating the Colts 34-6 in a game that wasn't really that close.

Podell and Pereles mentioned the game, but they also factored in the Michael Penix Jr. injury news when lauding the Falcons' positive vibes.

"The best news, however, came after the game: Kevin Stefanski said Penix has been cleared to return to 11-on-11 work after a lengthy rehabilitation from yet another torn ACL. Maybe Tagovailoa is already the de-facto starter since it's taken Penix a bit, but it's always nice to get positive injury updates," they wrote.

While Penix has been cleared for 11v11s in practice, he hasn't been cleared for contact. On Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn't commit to Penix playing against the Dolphins on Friday in the team's final preseason game.

With an open week before the Falcons' season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 13th, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Penix held out from game action, giving him another two weeks to fully heal before the season. One or two series in Miami on Friday isn't going to make much of a difference for Penix in the grand scheme of things.

Penix not playing on Friday would not automatically make Tagovailoa the de facto starter.

The Dolphins are in full tank mode for the regular season, but they'll have plenty of guys fighting for jobs on Friday. Another convincing win in Miami would add positive momentum for a team in desperate need of some as they head into Stefanski's first season.

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