What did Michael Penix Jr. need when there were calls for him to be benched?

Unfortunately, the Washington Commanders‘ defense is just what Penix needed, because on Sunday in Atlanta, Penix never looked better. Sadly, the Commanders‘ defense was just what the doctor ordered for Penix.

How bad was it for Penix last week? The Falcons fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard and also determined that their offensive coordinator would be moved to the field with Penix, rather than remain in the press box high above the stadium.

The Falcons’ offense was so anemic the previous week that they were unable to produce a single point on the scoreboard. Yet, on Sunday, the Falcons piled up 34 points against the Commanders’ defense, which had its front seven available today. We entered the game thinking that with all the Commanders’ offensive starters being out on Sunday, the offense would really struggle, but that wasn’t the case.

But the defense? How many passes were Falcons receivers open, and Penix simply dropping back and throwing the ball to them? In the first half, when the Falcons had possession of the ball, I began taking notes. When the half had completed, here is what my note read: “2nd & 5, 2nd & 1, 2nd & 1, 2nd & 1, 3rd & 2, 3rd & 3.” No need to ask, if you see the pattern. The Falcons ran or threw short at will in the first half.

The second half wasn’t any better. In fact, on the day, the Commanders’ defense permitted the Falcons to have scoring drives of 45 yards (Field Goal), 73 yards (Touchdown), 63 yards (Touchdown), 76 yards (Touchdown), 72 yards (Touchdown), 69 yards (Field Goal).

The Commanders’ defense did not get to Penix. He was only hit twice, only sacked once. He picked apart their secondary. Of course, Penix was throwing to pretty open receivers much of the day. In addition, as I noted above, the Falcons’ run game and short passing continued to produce very favorable down-and-distance options for Atlanta.

Last week, the Panthers held Penix in check (36 pass attempts for only 172 yards) as he produced only 4.8 yards per pass attempt. Against the Commanders, Penix produced 313 passing yards on 26 passing attempts. With one sack for -6 yards, Penix had a net 307 passing, so he averaged 11.8 yards per pass attempt.

Next week, they face Justin Herbert.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Defense was exactly what Michael Penix needed