Michael Penix Motivates Himself by Striving for the Impossible: Perfection

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. drove his team into field goal range with under a minute to play on Sunday in a 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons ultimately lost 23-20 after kicker Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field goal.

When asked after the game about a specific incompletion, he couldn’t remember what happened on the play, but he understands mistakes will happen.

“I don’t remember, but that’s back to the thing. We’re not perfect,” Penix said with a shrug. “Obviously, I want to give those guys a chance. Allow them guys to make big-time plays on the ball, but I’m not perfect, man. I try to be.”

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Penix finished the game with 319 total yards (298 passing, 21 rushing), two total touchdowns (one passing, one rushing), and a 64.3% completion percentage, completing 27 passes on 42 attempts. While the quarterback was by no means perfect, he played a nearly flawless fourth quarter.

He completed nine of his 13 pass attempts for 95 yards and added 18 yards and a touchdown on the ground in three attempts. He was pressed on his perfection comment on Wednesday by Falcons reporters.

“I just say it to help myself. I do. I want to be (perfect). I know I'm not, but I want to be, and I'm going to do everything I can to get as close as I can to that … I do expect a lot out of myself. It's probably not as healthy, but I know whenever I step inside those lines, my mind is clear, and I'm ready to go play football.” Penix said.

That’s the kind of competitor that the Falcons quarterback is. He knows he shouldn’t put that pressure on himself, but he can’t help it. He wants to be perfect. He strives for it, no matter what.

Penix’s next chance for perfection will be against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football. He will be going against a tough Brian Flores defense.

“He's just very versatile,” Penix said when asked what makes Flores’s game plan challenging. “Even whenever it's not the exotic stuff that he brings, I feel like they do a great job with their different coverages, being able to switch things up based on certain formations, looks, emotions, and stuff that they do.

“We’ve just got to make sure we come out ready for anything that they can do because he is a good coach and he will be ready to call come game day, and we’ve got to be ready to respond.”

The Falcons struggled to put points on the board on Sunday, scoring only 20 points against Tampa Bay. However, Atlanta’s normally stout run game struggled with just 2.18 yards per carry, and the receiving corps missed big-play threat Darnell Mooney.

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson admitted that the offense around Penix has to do better.

“But overall, really pleased with where Mike is at right now, and we'll just continue to build this thing,” Robinson said on Wednesday. “Like I said, we’ve just got to play better around him. We've got to coach better in all facets and make sure that everything is clean around him because we feel great with where he's at.”

The Falcons have great pieces around Penix, ranging from running back Bijan Robinson to wide receiver Drake London.

Penix played well in Week 1, and he’ll be the first to tell you that he hopes to play better in Week 2. The second-year quarterback will once again chase perfection in the Falcons' second game of the season, a clash with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.