Raheem Morris: "That was our apology to our fans."
Tori McElhaney
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. The Atlanta Falcons needed a response after being shutout by the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. They needed to show offensive life, that their perceived expectations about their own unit matched what they were able to do on the field of play.
When Michael Penix Jr. woke up Sunday morning he knew that to be true. As he brushed his teeth, he contemplated that need. Driving to Mercedes-Benz Stadium that morning to face the Washington Commanders, perhaps he manifested it through his prayers. Because what came to pass hours later was right in line with what the Falcons expect their offensive identity to be. It was the sign of life they needed. Confirmation that they can be a high-powered, high-scoring unit.
"It showed what this team is really about," Penix said postgame.
Obviously, Penix continued, after the team's performance last weekend in North Carolina, there were a lot of people with a lot of things to say about this unit. Head coach Raheem Morris said those criticisms are fair. When you lose like that, he said Wednesday, stones can be thrown. And until the Falcons offense showed what they could do, the bruises would deepen.
Their response, though, was twofold: Organizationally and within action.
The Falcons made the decision earlier in the week tomove offensive coordinator Zac Robinson down from the coaches' box to the fieldto call plays. It was a move Penix said was "good for (the Falcons) to do."
"It gave us confidence," Penix said. "To be able to come over to the sideline and be able to hear from him exactly the way he's seeing it, the way he wants to set us up with the plays on the next drive, it was awesome."
Penix looked more like his old self for arguably the first time in 2025. He was hitting receivers deep downfield, helping himself to amassing 300 passing yards on the day. He had eight passing plays of over 15-plus yards. The last time he did that? Against Washington and Carolina... last season.
Morris gave Penix a game ball in theaftermath of the 34-27 win. He said he did so because of the scrutiny Penix had endured throughout the week after his performance against the Panthers. It was one Morris, and Penix himself, agreed was not the young quarterback's day.
This Sunday, however, was a night and day difference.
The Falcons came into Week 4's contest without a receiver or tight end attributing to a passing touchdown in 2025. They had scored a touchdown in just one of the team's last eight quarters. In Sunday's response, though, everyone got a piece of the pie.
Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Tyler Allgeier all had touchdowns. London finished the day with 110 receiving yards. He had 156 total through the first three games of the 2025 season. And then there's Robinson, who continues to be the engine that makes the Falcons offense go. His afternoon finished with 181 total yards from scrimmage.
What's more, no Falcons running back/wide receiver duo since Williams Andrews and Alfred Jackson (1981) has had 100-plus receiving yards a piece. Robinson and London (with the help of Penix) did so in four quarters of work against the Commanders.
In essence, that's more like it.
This performance was the one the Falcons' offense had been waiting for. The fact it happened in the wake of a shutout loss to a divisional rival only made it more notable. Asked what this win could do for team confidence moving forward, London said it means "everything" to this group.
"It can mean the world to a lot of people," London said. "It meant the world to me today."
Robinson agreed, but even took it a step further.
"I feel last week was supposed to happen how it was supposed to happen because it put us in a new mindset, it drove us to a different way," Robinson said. "We understood if we put that stuff on film, it's not good for nobody. It's not good for us as teammates, for the coaches. So, our urgency was very high this week."
Robinson said the Falcons know they are a good offense. You don't have that many first-round picks and not feel that way. But they needed to do the little things right. They needed to execute. And they needed to show their fans and the league at large that their performance against Carolina was not indicative of who they are.
They did so, but they'll need to stack performances to continue to get everyone to believe. They'll have the chance to do that in two weeks when the league's best offense, the Buffalo Bills comes to town in Week 6 for Monday Night Football. Until then, the Falcons will enter into their bye week content that they were able to finally show in real time, with action and production who they are.
"When you talk about coming off the nasty, disgusting taste that we left out there for ourselves," Morris said, "then that was our apology to our fans today to be able to go out there and give ourselves a win so we can go out and enjoy our bye week and everybody can be a little bit happier."
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