Michael Penix Jr. named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

After former Washington Huskies star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. helped the Atlanta Falcons achieve the NFL's biggest upset in Week 7, leading them past the undefeated San Francisco 49ers to a 29-20 win at home inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, he was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.In the victory, Penix played one of the best games of his young career. He completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns, the last of which was a 21-yard strike to wide receiver Drake London on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Falcons a two-possession lead.As Penix continues to ascend and has all three of Atlanta's wins on the year, he received a strong vote of confidence from several members of his teammates.Your NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Michael Penix Jr. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZKHwEW6C9F— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 28, 2026“When No. 9 is out there, this is a completely different football team,” All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III told the media. “I really, truly believe that he’s a franchise quarterback…You can sleep good at night knowing you got Michael Penix playing quarterback for you.”As the Falcons look to make a move up the standings in the NFC South, head coach Kevin Stefanski has seen a lot of growth from Penix as he continues to get comfortable after a torn ACL ended his 2025 season prematurely."I think for any quarterback, the more experience you have going up against different defenses and getting put in different situations can only benefit you," Stefanski said. "I think that's what I see from Mike is stacking these games, both in a literal sense, you know, the wins and those types of things, but also stacking all of these experiences and learning from them. Already in the ballgames, we've seen a bunch of different coverages, bunch of different pressures, different philosophies in the red zone."This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Michael Penix Jr. named NFC Offensive Player of the Week