Michael Penix Jr. posted NFL's 4th-best QBR in Week 3

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. received a good amount of praise for his performance in Thursday’s 35-14 win over the Green Bay Packers, and it’s easy to see why.

Not only did Penix overcome his third career ACL tear to upset the Packers in prime time, but Penix’s play seemed to get better and better as the game went on. The third-year Falcons QB completed just one out of his first five pass attempts, including an ugly interception, but he snapped out of his funk and started throwing darts.

Penix completed 18 of 25 pass attempts for 256 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a passer rating of 101.4. However, NFL passer rating is somewhat outdated as a stat.

Many around the league have gravitated towards ESPN’s QBR metric, which “values the quarterback on all play types on a 0-100 scale” that’s adjusted for the strength of the opposing defense.

Penix finished with the fourth-highest QBR in Week 4 (84.9), per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson led all quarterbacks with a 94.0 QBR, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (92.2 QBR) finished second, and 49ers QB Brock Purdy was third with an 85.5. As stated above, Penix was fourth with an 84.9 QBR and Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence rounded out the top five with a QBR of 79.8.

This is a stark contrast from how the Falcons’ began the season. Cooper Rush finished dead last in the NFL in each of the first two weeks. Rush had a 3.0 QBR in Week 1 and a slightly better 6.2 QBR in Week 2.

The Falcons are preparing for another prime-time matchup in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. Penix will look to keep the magic going after a promising first start for Atlanta.