Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. posts historically bad passing numbers under pressure
The gist
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed one of nine passes for negative three yards in a 34-17 loss to the Bengals in Madrid.
His season-long struggles under pressure now shape Atlanta's $25 million fifth-year option call.
How it unfolded
- Nov 1, 2026Penix threw four interceptions in a 16-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in driving rain, a career-worst outing with minus-0.87 EPA per dropback, the lowest by a quarterback in 245 qualifying NFL starts that year.
- Nov 1, 2026Caleb Williams threw four interceptions, the first such game of his career, against the Buccaneers; Chicago still won on a game-winning field goal.
- Nov 8, 2026Drake Maye threw three first-half interceptions in the Patriots' 45-27 loss to the Packers, finishing 21-for-38 for 299 yards and three touchdowns that the source called garbage-time production.
Key terms
- EPA per dropback
- A proprietary ESPN statistic grading quarterback performance in American football, incorporating passing, rushing, turnovers and penalties.
- passer rating
- A statistic measuring a quarterback's passing performance based on attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns and interceptions.
Source: Wikipedia