ATLANTA -- Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris said he knew with confidence that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would bounce back from the worst game of his young career the very next day.
In Week 3, Penix threw two interceptions, including a backbreaking pick-six in his sixth career start. He had the second-lowest QBR (12.5) of the week. The Falcons lost 30-0 to division rival Carolina Panthers. It was the team's widest margin of defeat while getting shut out in a decade.
That loss was so disastrous that the Falcons fired wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard and decided to move offensive coordinator Zac Robinson down from the coaching box to the sideline.
Kirk Cousins, the veteran backup quarterback making $27.5 million this season, came into that game during the fourth quarter. The Falcons offense had the kind of performance where people on the outside were wondering whether there would be a quarterback competition and if Penix was, indeed, really the franchise QB.
Morris never wavered. And his patience was fortified by what he saw from Penix the day after the game and the rest of the week.
"When he walked to the meeting room," Morris said of what convinced him, "the passion when he talked to his group, when he came in and talked to his unit, his ability to put his head down and work. There was no moping, there was no finger-pointing. He took it on himself, and he came out and fixed it."
Penix responded Sunday with one of his best games in a 34-27 win over the Washington Commanders at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He was 20-of-26 passing for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception.
Coming into Week 4, Penix had not thrown a touchdown pass to a wide receiver or tight end all season. Against the Commanders, Penix found wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. for scores. His QBR? The third best of the week through Sunday's games (90.5).
"I don't want to sit here and say I showed other people something about me or about this team, but it is all about us, man," Penix said. "It is not always going to be perfect, like I said. I feel like I showed myself that I deserve to be here and I belong."
Perhaps Penix's best series came late in the fourth quarter. With the Falcons ahead 31-24, Penix converted on three third-down plays. The first was a 5-yard scramble, the second a 22-yard pass to Pitts and the third a 9-yard pass to London. The Falcons got a field goal from kicker Parker Romo on that drive to go up 34-24 with 1:57 left to essentially seal the game.
"That's who he is," London said. "He's a gamer. At the end of the day, we all had to have candid conversations about just what we were doing out there, and we all came together as a whole, and I think it showed today. But there's still another level."
What is that next level? Running back Bijan Robinson said the Falcons offense could be "unstoppable." Robinson had a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage Sunday and leads the league in that category (584). Week 4 was the first time both the running game and passing game were clicking for Atlanta at the same time.
A lot of that credit has to go to Penix, who came under fire just a few days prior.
"When I watched him play in college, he had all the things that I loved," Morris said. "All the unique tools, [the ability] to get the ball out his hand and to be able to find the open receiver, be able to throw the ball down the field, to be able to go through the process of a football game through all those things. And I've been absolutely enamored by him since I had the chance to draft him."
The process of rebounding after that loss, which Morris described as "nasty" and "disgusting," began right away, a few hours after the game when Penix arrived at the team's facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
"I was really encouraged that he would be able to do that," Morris said. "This young man is one of those guys who is the definition of great, the definition of resilience. We've talked about his calm demeanor since he's been here and just another opportunity for him to go out there and show it."