FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Welcome back to Early Bird Report!

The Falcons are back from Madrid and closely studying their 34-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, which has dropped them to 3-6 on the season. Atlanta was penalized a season-high 12 times on Sunday, which negated a few big plays and set the offense back in scoring opportunities.

"Way too many self-inflicted wounds and things that were uncharacteristic of us," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "But we have to be better in those 60 minutes out there on the grass, and we were not today. And that's obviously disappointing."

Atlanta had not been flagged more than 5 times in its previous three games and had not had double-digit penalties in any game until Sunday.

The day after each game this season, we will collect all the nuggets we haven't used and organize them in a digestible way to give fans a comprehensive view of the team.

Here are the notes and quotes you should know from Falcons vs. Bengals

Bengals' offense as good as advertised

Even on a day without an unusual number of self-inflicted mistakes, the Bengals were going to be a tough out. Falcons players and coaches voiced their respect for Cincinnati during the week leading up to the game, and the Bengals—particularly on offense—looked impressive.

Quarterback Joe Burrow was 24-of-29 passing for 271 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to wide receiver Tee Higgins. Burrow's clear No. 1 option on Sunday was wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who caught 10 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown.

"Those are two excellent football players with an excellent quarterback, good scheme," Stefanski said. "So you know that you're not going to stop them. You're not going to take them out of a game. You're trying to slow them down. We certainly didn't do it enough. If there was one answer to take away those guys, obviously, you'd do it. There's not in this game. They're very good football players."

The Bengals scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the game, building a lead that helped them take control. Atlanta's defense came out strong in the second half to force a three-and-out on the Bengals' first drive. That allowed the Falcons' offense to march 65 yards in 11 plays and score their second touchdown of the game. It was the kind of complementary football the Falcons have been seeking, but they could not sustain it on Sunday.

"We always feel like we're in the game," quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said of that drive to start the second half. "For us, we always knew we were one drive away. We knew the defense was going to get a stop for us. We just had to go out there and execute, and we didn't do that consistently enough. We did it on that one drive that you talked about, but we've got to find ways to do it consistently, and we did not today."

Michael Penix Jr.'s mobility

Atlanta's quarterback needed a bounce-back week after a tough performance on a rain-soaked day in Tampa Bay, and Penix largely looked better against Cincinnati. He was 20 of 31 for 162 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His numbers through the air would have been more impressive if not for some of the penalties.

One particular wrinkle Penix provided for Atlanta's offense on Sunday was his scrambling ability. Although he's a good athlete and was known for his athleticism early in his college career, Penix had not taken off with the football much in his professional career. That was not the case on Sunday, and he punctured the Bengals' defense on three scrambles to the tune of 50 yards.

"Yeah, I felt good out there," Penix said. "When I found a lane, I was able to scramble for first downs. I get that a lot, about me not scrambling much, but today I felt like that's what we needed in those moments and situations, and I took advantage of it."

Penix's 50 rushing yards are the most he's had in any NFL game, and his 23-yard scramble in the first quarter was the longest of his career. According to Next Gen Stats, Penix hit 19.37 miles per hour on that run, the third-fastest speed by a Falcons offensive player.

His mobility on Sunday was another positive sign of Penix's health after he underwent ACL surgery last season.

Bijan Robinson back in the end zone

Atlanta's star running back entered this game on an atypical scoring drought. After scoring twice in back-to-back games against Green Bay and New Orleans, Robinson had not returned to the end zone.

That changed in the third quarter to cap an impressive drive by Atlanta on its first possession of the second half. Robinson took the handoff and immediately sprinted towards the left-front pylon, easily outflanking Bengals defenders.

Robinson leads all NFL players with 880 rushing yards this season. On Sunday, he finished with 100 rushing yards, his first time cracking triple digits since Week 4, and totaled 147 yards from scrimmage to lead the Falcons. His third-quarter score was the 30th rushing touchdown of Robinson's career, tying him with William Andrews and Warrick Dunn for the sixth-most in franchise history.

Sunday marked Robinson's 60th career game with the Falcons. Through those first 60 games, Robinson has compiled 6,778 yards from scrimmage, which ranks second in franchise history behind only William Andrews, who gained 6,798 yards.