Falcons turn to rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. for key game vs Giants

New York Giants (2-12) at Atlanta (7-7)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox

BetMGM NFL Odds: Falcons by 8 1/2.

Against the spread: Giants 4-10; Falcons 6-8.

Series record: Falcons lead 14-12.

Last meeting: Falcons beat the Giants 17-14 on Sept. 26, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J.

Last week: Giants lost to the Ravens 35-14; Falcons beat the Raiders 15-9.

Giants offense: overall (29), rush (18), pass (30), scoring (32)

Giants defense: overall (T21), rush (31), pass (7), scoring (20)

Falcons: overall (9), rush (12), pass (6), scoring (20)

Falcons defense: overall (20), rush (13), pass (24), scoring (20)

Turnover differential: Giants minus-8; Falcons minus-7.

Giants player to watch

WR Malik Nabers had his third double-digit catch game of the season against the Ravens and joined Odell Beckham Jr., Jaylen Waddle and Brock Bowers as the only rookies in NFL history with three games of 10-or-more receptions. The No. 6 overall pick in the draft, Nabers has 90 catches for 901 yards and is two shy of breaking the Giants rookie record of 91 held by Beckham (2014) and Saquon Barkley (2018).

Falcons player to watch

QB Michael Penix Jr. will make his first career start after the Falcons benched 13-year veteran Kirk Cousins. Penix, the Heisman Trophy runner-up at Washington in 2023, was the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft but wasn’t expected to land the starting job so soon. The timetable ramped up dramatically when Cousins threw nine interceptions and just one touchdown over the past five games. After pulling out an ugly 15-9 win at Las Vegas, where it became clear that the Falcons had lost confidence in their passing game, the decision was made to switch to Penix.

Key matchup

Atlanta’s defensive front vs. Giants offensive line. After managing a league-low 10 sacks through their first 11 games, the Falcons have turned up the pressure with 13 sacks in three games since their bye week. Eight players have notched sacks during that span, led by OLB Kaden Elliss and DE Arnold Ebiketie with three apiece. With Drew Lock set to return as New York’s quarterback after missing last week with a heel injury, the Falcons will be looking to bring the heat against a team that has allowed 45 sacks, tied for seventh most in the NFL.

Key injuries

Giants: QB Tommy DeVito, who started last week in place of Lock, was in the concussion protocol. If he’s cleared to play, he’ll return to the backup role behind Lock. … G Aaron Stinnie also is recovering from a concussion. … LB Patrick Johnson (knee) is not expected to play Sunday. … OLB Brian Burns (ankle/neck), ILB Bobby Okereke (knee) and CB Greg Stroman (shoulder/shin) are hurting. … The Giants are hopeful that CB Deonte Banks (ribs) will be able to return after sitting out the loss to Baltimore.

Falcons: K Younghoe Koo was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed issue, knocking him out for the rest of the regular season and putting his future with the team in doubt. Koo had been one of the league’s most reliable kickers, but he has missed a career-high nine field-goal attempts this season. … The Falcons brought in Riley Patterson to take Koo’s spot.

Series notes

The Falcons have won three straight in the series. … New York’s most recent win over the Falcons was a 30-20 triumph in 2014. … The Giants’ most recent win in Atlanta was a 31-10 blowout in 2007. … The teams have met once in the playoffs, with New York rolling to a 24-2 wild-card win during the 2008 season. … The first win in Falcons’ history was a 27-16 victory over the Giants at Yankee Stadium during Atlanta’s inaugural season in 1966.

Stats and stuff

The Giants tied their franchise record for consecutive losses at nine last weekend. They have done it three times in their 100-year history, the most recent time in 2019. … Lock passed for 313 yards, threw two TDs and ran for one for Denver in 2020 in his only career start against the Falcons. … RB Tyrone Tracy ranks second among rookies with 695 yards rushing. He has scored a TD in his past three road games. … WR Wan’Dale Robinson has a career-high 71 receptions. .. Burns has his eighth sack of the season last week and became the sixth player since 2000 with at least 7 1/2 sacks in each of his first six seasons. He had two sacks in his most recent game against the Falcons, playing for the Panthers in 2023. … ILB Micah McFadden has a career-high 102 tackles. … Penix was among a record-tying six QBs taken in the first round of the 2024 draft. He is the fifth member of that group to earn a start, ahead of only Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy, who won’t play until 2025 because of a knee injury. … Falcons RB Bijan Robinson rushed for a career-high 125 yards on 22 carries against Las Vegas. That gave the second-year back the first 1,000-yard season of his young career, pushing him to 1,102 yards. … Robinson has topped 100 yards in three of the past five games, and he has at least 20 carries in four of the past five games as the Falcons turned away from their passing game amid Cousins’ struggles. … Elliss has a career-high 124 tackles after making 11 stops at Las Vegas. … OLB DeAngelo Malone has his first two sacks of the season against the Raiders. … P Bradley Pinion had four punts downed inside the 10, including two inside the 5, in the Monday night win.

Fantasy tip

Robinson is a good bet to keep getting plenty of carries and rushing yards, especially with the Falcons breaking in a new quarterback. He’s also an option in the passing game, providing a safe outlet for short-to-medium passes that would further lessen the burden on Penix.

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