Penix, Falcons have to beat Panthers and hope for help in their last chance to end playoff drought

ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. knows the Atlanta Falcons can’t control their playoff hopes when they close their regular season Sunday against Carolina.

That control disappeared with last week’s 30-24 overtime loss at Washington.

Penix, Atlanta’s rookie quarterback, can’t worry about NFC South-leading Tampa Bay’s game against New Orleans on Sunday. If the Buccaneers win, they clinch the division and end the Falcons’ hopes of making their first playoff appearance since 2017.

For the Falcons, a win by Tampa Bay would be bad. Even worse, however, would be having the Buccaneers lose while Atlanta falls at home to Carolina. So Penix knows he must focus on the Panthers in his third NFL start.

Penix isn’t banking on the Panthers’ lopsided 48-14 loss at Tampa Bay last week as evidence the Falcons can expect to beat Carolina.

“I mean, it’s the NFL,” Penix said. “I always say that you can’t overlook them. ... As far as we know, we still (are) in it, so we’ve got to continue to play hard and come in with the right mindset this week.”

The Falcons (8-8) are looking to complete a sweep of their season series with the Panthers (4-12). Bijan Robinson ran for two touchdowns in a 38-20 win at Carolina on Oct. 13.

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Despite last week’s ugly loss, quarterback Bryce Young has shown improvement in his return as Carolina’s starter. Young has completed 60.4% of his passes (172 of 285) since being restored as the starter in Week 8 against Denver. He has passed for 12 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Young passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score in a 36-30 overtime win over Arizona two weeks ago.

Panthers coach Dave Canales says he has been impressed by his team’s spirit even while losing five of its last six games.

“The fight — I’ve just loved every minute of this team,” Canales said. “Regardless of the outcome of the games, the fight in this team to just continue to play for pride, for each other, it means something to them.”

Penix’s poise impresses

Penix took over Atlanta’s offense when veteran Kirk Cousins was benched on Dec. 17. Penix is 1-1 in his first two starts. Though he has passed for only one touchdown with two interceptions, he has impressed coach Raheem Morris with his composure, completing two fourth-down passes to force overtime last week at Washington.

“You talk about this kid and you talk about the poise,” Morris said. “It was almost waiting to celebrate for him that he’s going to get it done because you kind of felt so confident in him being able to do it. And to a fault, probably overconfident with the kid because he’s so good and he’s so talented. He can do anything.”

Young under pressure

Don’t be surprised if the Falcons bring the pressure against Young.

The Buccaneers pressured Young 68.6% of the time on pass plays, which was the highest pressure rate faced by any NFL QB in a game this season, according to Next Gen Stats. He was sacked five times.

Canales said Young did a good job of handling the pressure.

“He was a stud about it. He just kept battling,” Canales said, adding that Young “just stood in there, and he kept operating, which is what I was proud of again, to be able to just keep hunting and trying to find opportunities down the field.”

The Falcons’ pass rush has enjoyed a late-season surge with at least three sacks in each of the last five games, including five last week against Washington.

Scoreboard watching

Morris says the Falcons will “definitely play the ‘if’ game” by having interest in Tampa Bay’s score against New Orleans as the games will be played at the same time.

But Morris says the Falcons must keep their focus.

“It comes to a certain point where the ‘if’ game has to end and you have to go out there and establish your business and go out there and find a way to win this football game,” Morris said.

Sanders to return?

The Panthers have placed three running backs on injured reserve this season, including 1,100-yard rusher Chuba Hubbard before to last week’s game against Tampa Bay.

Raheem Blackshear was ineffective in a fill-in role against the Bucs. The backfield could be getting some help this week the potential return of veteran Miles Sanders from IR. Sanders returned to practice this week and is expected to play for the first time since Nov. 10.

Panthers aim for good finish

The Panthers have long been eliminated from playoff contention, but Canales doesn’t just want his team simply playing out the string.

He said the final game is about “finishing” and “finding our style of play.”

“That’s the challenge that we have right in front of us, is can we refocus one more time?” Canales said.

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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

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