Michael Penix Jr. Named Falcons Starter for Sunday

The Michael Penix Jr. era is officially arriving in Atlanta, assuming the universe doesn't intervene between now and kickoff.

ESPN's Marc Raimondi reported that Penix will take over as the Falcons' starting quarterback this Sunday. The news came with the classic coaching caveat from Stefanski that the rookie will start "as long as everything goes accordingly."

"Stefanski: Penix will start Sunday as long as everything goes accordingly."

That phrase is doing an incredible amount of heavy lifting. It is the football equivalent of saying a parlay is a lock as long as all four legs hit. Basically, unless Penix gets stuck in Atlanta traffic or trips over a stray helmet at the practice facility, he is taking the first snap.

The move comes right after the Falcons dropped a 30-23 game to the Baltimore Ravens. Clearly, whatever the offense was doing in that loss was enough to force a change under center and accelerate the timeline for their rookie.

Handing the keys to a young quarterback is the kind of pivot that completely scrambles the board. Oddsmakers and fantasy managers now have to throw out weeks of tape and guess how the playbook changes with a fresh arm running the huddle.

Sunday will be the first real test to see if Penix can immediately elevate this roster. If everything actually does go accordingly, Atlanta might finally have the spark they have been waiting for.