Michael Penix Jr. makes a strong first impression on the NFL in his preseason debut

Michael Penix Jr. looked like the quarterback Washington fans know and love on Friday night.

In his first live snaps as a member of the NFL, former Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. did plenty to excite the Atlanta Falcons fanbase and head coach Raheem Morris. So much so that his head coach asked for the ball after winning the coin toss just to watch Penix.

“You know,” Morris told the media after the game, “Really I was just excited about seeing Michael if I’m just being completely honest.”

Across five possessions over the first and second quarter against the Miami Dolphins, Penix looked like the same poised and confident quarterback that Husky fans have come to know over the past two seasons at Washington.

The highlight of his game was a beautiful dart thrown down the sideline to wide receiver Chris Blair for a 41-yard gain, which felt like redemption for both players after Blair fumbled after pulling in a catch on the prior series.

Penix was set to score his first NFL touchdown, but tight end John Fitzpatrick came up short and was tackled at the one yard line. His next pass to receiver Casey Washington was slightly overthrown while under pressure.

The Falcons went for it on fourth down and Penix handed the ball off to Carlos Washington Jr., who punched his way into the end zone for the score.

Penix ended his night after completing 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards and a passer rating of 76.0. Of his 16 passes, 7 of them were to fellow rookie Casey Washington.

Coming off the field at halftime, Morris said he “felt really good” about Penix’s first reps, but that the offense was sloppy as a whole.

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