Happy Sunday night! It's a primetime game for the Atlanta Falcons, and we're here hoping they'll squeeze by a tough Minnesota Vikings team this evening. To do so, they'll need to pump the brakes on the J.J. McCarthy hype train, keep Michael Penix Jr. safe from a withering pass rush, and take advantage of a suspect Vikings secondary while avoiding big mistakes. You know, all in a day's work.
McCarthy was taken two spots after Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr, whom Atlanta sensationally selected despite signing Kirk Cousins to a lucrative free agent contract earlier that offseason. Penix was taken eighth overall, and after replacing Cousins and impressing late last season, is now the full-time starter, though Week 1 ended in disappointment for Atlanta as the Falcons lost a thriller to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite a Penix touchdown run putting them ahead with just over two minutes to play.