Daniels and the Commanders host Penix and the Falcons in prime time with playoff chances at stake

Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. trained and went through the NFL draft process together on the way to becoming two of the five quarterbacks taken in the top 10.

After going off the board earlier with the second pick by the Washington Commanders, Daniels has been their starter all season and one of football's breakout stars. Penix, taken eighth in a move coach Raheem Morris joked “shocked the world," waited behind Kirk Cousins until usurping the veteran and making his first pro start last week.

On Sunday night, they'll face off in the league's first prime-time showdown of rookie QBs selected in the first round, and the spotlight is bright with significant playoff implications at stake.

“I'm happy for him — he waited his time,” Daniels said of Penix. “He's a phenomenal player in my eyes, and I'm excited to be able to match up against him.”

Daniels and the Commanders (10-5) are in the playoffs with a win. They might already be in before kickoff if Tampa Bay loses at home to Carolina, though the Buccaneers are 8-point favorites on Sportsbook.

Washington is favored by 4 against the Falcons (8-7), who are vying with the Bucs for the NFC South title and a home playoff game and also in contention with the Commanders and others for the conference's wild-card spots.

“The reality is that you fight, you fight, you fight and you put yourself in a position to go out there and win your division,” Penix said. "You put yourself in a chance to get yourself to qualify for extra play. We’re right in the mix of doing that, and we’ve got to go do it and finish.”

Daniels, who threw five touchdown passes to beat Philadelphia last week and end the Eagles’ winning streak at 10 games, is the prohibitive favorite to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Penix completed 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards in a rout of the New York Giants that included two touchdowns by Atlanta's defense and two on the ground from running back Bijan Robinson.

“I was really pleased with his composure, his poise, his ability to click through progressions,” Morris said. "Realistically, it was a pretty clean game at the quarterback position. I’m very pleased with what he did and how he did it and the support that he had around him.”

Coaching connection

Washington's Dan Quinn is facing the Falcons as a head coach for the first time since they fired him in 2020. He was replaced then on an interim basis by Morris, who was an assistant on his staff in Atlanta the entire time Quinn was in charge, including the run to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season.

“It’s always fun to play against your friends, your confidants, your mentors — whatever you want to look at it as — that we’ve been able to grow up with throughout this whole process,” said Morris, who was an assistant in Washington from 2012-14 under Mike Shanahan and interviewed for the Commanders job last winter.

“Dan coaching me in college," Morris added, "and then having a chance to work together and then having a chance to really follow the same path to the National Football League and then to now being in a fortunate position to be head coaches in this awesome league and having a chance to compete against each other at a very high level with high stakes on the line in prime time and all of those things — I just enjoy those moments of being able to go against guys that you care about.”

Morris said conversations from their close working relationship, which dates to their time together at Hofstra, are on a break right now.

“Obviously you swap texts on normal weeks,” Morris said. “I won’t talk to him this week. I’ll ban him. I’ll block him on the phone.”

More zip leads to more drops

Penix's results would have been even more impressive if not for some drops by receivers. Ray-Ray McCloud and Drake London had miscues on Atlanta’s opening drive. Tight end Kyle Pitts bobbled a pass later that led to Penix's interception.

Serving as scout-team QB while Cousins was the starter, Penix had little practice time with the first-string offense before last week. As a left-hander, Penix gives receivers a different look, but perhaps the biggest adjustment was the added zip on his passes when compared with Cousins.

“We kind of talked about that,” Morris said. “We figured that would happen. ... We talked about the reps with these guys, not having as many. So, things like that are going to happen. But I do like the fact that we’re able to keep playing and pushing and watch the guys get better and better as we went.

Fuller strength

The Commanders are expected to get two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen back after surgery in October to repair a torn pectoral muscle initially looked to be season-ending.

“We know the caliber of Jon and what he can bring,” Quinn said. “He’s strong. He’s tough. So when that does happen, that’ll be something that will definitely bring energy to our defense.”

Allen had 15 tackles and two sacks in five-plus games before getting injured at Baltimore on Oct. 13.

Sacks on the rise

After ranking last in the league with 10 sacks through the first 11 games, Atlanta’s long-struggling pass rush has enjoyed a dramatic surge. The Falcons have at least three in four consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league, with 16 total over this stretch.

Arnold Ebiketie recorded his fifth sack and recovered a fumble against the Giants, and Kaden Elliss had a strip sack. Elliss also has five sacks and has dropped opposing QBs in four consecutive games: the longest streak by a Falcons defender since Patrick Kerney's five in a row in 2001.

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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum contributed.

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