Michael Penix Jr. Responds to Popular 2024 Falcons 'What-If'

The Atlanta Falcons will enter the 2025 NFL regular season on a seven-year playoff drought. Some fans, though, have argued the drought would have ended last winter if the team replaced quarterback Kirk Cousins with rookie Michael Penix Jr. earlier than Week 16.

CBS Sports football analyst Bryant McFadden proposed the hypothetical while sitting down with the Falcons second-year quarterback this week.

Penix, though, tried to throw cold water on the popular fan narrative.

"I don't know, man. I just control what I can control," Penix told McFadden. "Just go out there and be the best me I can each and every day.

"I don't know. I can't say that cause it could have been the other way too. At the end of the day, when my time came, I had to be ready."

Penix was ready, posting 737 passing yards with three touchdowns in three starts at the end of the season. The rookie averaged 12.7 yards per completion.

The quarterback, who celebrated his 25th birthday Thursday, showed a lot of maturity with his answer, though, which McFadden, a former player and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers, appeared to appreciate.

"You know what, I'm going to say what you can't say. 'I think so,'" McFadden said to Penix's answer. "I'm going to say what the outside folks are saying."

McFadden and Penix exchanged a laugh after the interviewer's response. Penix also expressed a quiet confidence, saying, "For sure."

Michael Penix Jr. on if the Falcons would have made the playoffs if the QB change would have happened earlier in the season:

🎥: NFL on CBS pic.twitter.com/vgY2O4Lb1b
— Carrie (@carrielynnxox) May 8, 2025

It's worth wondering why McFadden is even asking Penix the question if he knows what the quarterback really wants to say he can't say. It essentially sounds like McFadden was trying to bait Penix into saying something controversial, which isn't typically done by former players in the media.

But clearly, McFadden is a fan of Penix and believes had he been starting earlier, the Falcons would have been in the postseason.

Penix did have his shot to lead Atlanta to a postseason berth, but with the benefit of hindsight, the rookie quarterback would have needed to lead the Falcons to a perfect 3-0 record.

Penix went 1-2 as Atlanta's starting quarterback. The losses were hardly his fault, though, as Raheem Morris badly mismanaged the clock at the end of an overtime loss versus the Washington Commanders in Week 17. The defense then played very poorly in another overtime defeat to the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.

In both overtime losses, Penix never received a chance with the ball.

During the season finale, Penix completed 21 of 38 passes for 312 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.