If Sunday’s game is a glimpse of what’s to come, Michael Penix Jr. and Bryce Young will be battling for years in the NFC South. Both quarterbacks proved that they can make big plays when it counts.  A rookie with only his third career start, Penix was seeking to lead the Atlanta Falcons to their first playoff berth since 2017. The Falcons needed a victory over the Carolina Panthers in combination with a loss by Tampa Bay Bucs to clinch the NFC South.  Penix showed promise on offense, connecting on multiple veteran-level passes to six different receivers to finish with 312 yards, 2 touchdown passes, and 1 rushing touchdown. Drake London prove to be his main target, catching 10 passes for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Bijan Robinson added 170 rushing yards and two touchdowns. According to NFL stats, it’s the first time in league history that a team featured a 300 yard passer, 180 receiver, and 170 yard rusher who are all under the age of 25 in the same game.  But while the offense clicked, the defense gave no resistance to Bryce Young and the Panthers. Young threw for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for 2 touchdowns, leading the Panthers to 44 points. It was the first time this season that the Panthers, who won 5 games, scored over 40 points.  The Falcons would lose to the Panthers in overtime by a score of 44-38.  Following the game, Falcons coach Raheem Morris shared thoughts on the defense.  “I was really disappointed in our defense today, especially based off how they’ve been playing and how we’ve been going, how we’ve been attacking the quarterback,” Morris said in the post-game press conference. “I was really fired up where we were going, the direction we’re going. We took a step back today, a huge step back. And that’s something that we got to go back and look at and review and find out why. Because those things can’t happen.” But while the Falcons were hoping for a return to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, the promise of a future with Penix could bring some solace to fans in the offseason.  Penix sent a message to fans to remains hopeful.  “The message is, continue to believe,” Penix said. “I feel like we got a lot of a lot of talent on this team, a lot of talent coming back, and we’re just going to continue to build off of this year. So I look forward to a lot of playoffs and even Super Bowls in the future here for this organization. So tell the fans continue to believe and we’re going to be coming next year.”     The post Michael Penix Shows Promise, But Falcons’ Defense ‘Disappoints’ In Season Finale Against Panthers appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.