The plan was never supposed to circle back to this. But with Michael Penix Jr. now headed for season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn left ACL suffered in Sunday’s loss to Carolina, the Atlanta Falcons have no choice.
Atlanta’s 30-27 overtime loss to Carolina was a gut punch. A 21-7 halftime lead evaporated. Bryce Young threw for 448 yards. A fifth straight loss. And then came the injuries that pushed the season from bad to worse.
Penix Jr. left with a left knee injury that will land him on season-ending injured reserve, which raised raising fears about ACL damage to the knee opposite the one he twice tore in college.