26. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons took one of the best teams in the NFL into overtime, so there’s obviously something that’s going right for that team. But right now, it is just difficult to feel like Michael Penix Jr. is part of that.
Penix is in his second season with the Falcons, and at this point, you’re taking a big leap of faith to say he’s going to be this team’s franchise quarterback going forward. We still have plenty of time to evaluate him, which is the good news. The bad news is, what we have seen at this point is not sustainable.
The flashes from Penix have been good enough to continue buying into him as a long-term option, and part of that is what we saw late in this game from him. He got the Falcons down the field for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to give the Falcons a late lead, but the defense couldn’t prevent a field goal.
25. JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
The story is yet to be written fully for JJ McCarthy, and there’s plenty of time for him to grow, but this was a very up-and-down week for the redshirt rookie of the Vikings. McCarthy should have probably saved some of the alter ego talk for when the Vikings were on an absolute tear, because it definitely fell a little flat with his performance against the Ravens, but the kid has some serious moxie.
With the Vikings down by 8 points late in the game against the Ravens, McCarthy made a huge play with his legs, but it didn’t matter. They couldn’t convert on 4th down to keep the comeback alive. McCarthy’s poise and athleticism stand out. We’ll see if down-to-down efficiency will come in time.