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By Madison Williams
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The 3-4 Atlanta Falcons have had an up and down 2026 season so far.
A real negative moment came from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Penix struggled majorly, to say the least, in the first half alone. The quarterback started off OK by completing one pass for a 19-yard gain, and then a second pass for a five-yard gain. These were the only two completions Penix made the entire first half, though.
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The Falcons ended their first drive with a missed 53-yard field goal from kicker Nick Folk.
The team's second drive only lasted one play as Penix threw an interception to Bucs linebacker Alex Anzalone. Atlanta receiver Drake London, the intended target, earned an unnecessary roughness penalty on the play, giving Tampa Bay 15 extra yards.
It took Penix three plays on the team's next drive to throw his second interception of the first quarter. Anzalone caught the interception again for the Buccaneers.
On Atlanta's first drive of the second quarter, Penix threw his third interception of the game, this time to cornerback Jacob Parrish.
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So, if you're tallying, Penix ended up throwing more interceptions (three) than completed passes (two) in the first half. He threw eight incompletions. The Falcons relied heavily on their running game to try to gain some yardage in the first half.
Penix's interceptions didn't stop in the first half, though. The quarterback threw his fourth interception in the fourth quarter to Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum. Penix did throw two completions on the drive, though, before throwing the interception.
This wasn't a normal game for Penix. Coming into Sunday's matchup, he'd only thrown one interception this season. Sunday alone bumped that total up to five.
Penix put up a rough enough performance that Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski should be considering putting backup Tua Tagovailoa either into Sunday's game or start him next weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. Something needs to reset with Penix moving forward.
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