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Michael Penix Jr.’s Heart Was Beating Out of His Chest After First Career Win

Welcome to the league, rook!

Stephen Douglas

Michael Penix was all smiles after winning his first start.
Michael Penix was all smiles after winning his first start. / FOX
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Michael Penix Jr. made the first start of his NFL career on Sunday in an Atlanta Falcons win over the New York Giants, 34-7. Penix didn't have to do much thanks to two pick-sixes from the Falcons' defense and two rushing touchdowns from Bijan Robinson.

Still, Penix completed a respectable 18-of-27 pass attempts for 202 yards and only turned the ball over once, which was a big improvement over what Atlanta had been getting from Kirk Cousins who had thrown seven of his 16 interceptions this season in the last three weeks.

After the game Penix spoke with FOX's Laura Okmin who asked him to reflect on his memorable pre-draft words in The Players' Tribune about using an EKG to get to know him instead of an MRI.

"It's beatin' big right now," said Penix. "You probably can see it right now. It's coming out of my chest. I'm super happy. I'm super blessed. Man, like we talked about. I come from adversity. Even growing up, you know in the city where I'm from. In Dade City, small city. You know, I worked all my life to get to this point and I'm super blessed and super thankful."

Even better than getting his first win is the fact that the Falcons are now 8-7 this season and are still technically alive in the playoff hunt.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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