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Michael Penix Jr. 'day-to-day' with bone bruise, Divine Deablo to 'miss some time'

Both starters sustained injuries in the Falcons' Week 7 loss to the 49ers. 

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons had two starters sustain injuries in their Week 7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night at Levi's Stadium.

Inside linebacker Divine Deablo left the game with a forearm injury in the second quarter. His left arm was seen in a sling postgame. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was visibly shaken up with a lower-body injury in the fourth quarter. He finished the game.

On Monday, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris clarified Deablo has a fracture, while Penix has a bone bruise.

"Deablo will be week-to-week," Morris said. "We'll kind of get a feel for what that is. He'll miss some time, obviously.

"Penix will be day-to-day. Obviously, he's sore, all those different things, from the game last night. He'll have a chance to come in. He'll have Tuesday, a day off. He'll be back again Wednesday. He'll have some type of status to his report, obviously when you talk about the health report, but really feel good about him. He's as tough as it gets."

Deablo was an offseason signing who has been a huge asset to the Falcons' defense through six games. He has assisted in a sack, recovered a fumble, broken up four passes and contributed 24 tackles. He has been a force in the middle of the field alongside veteran Kaden Elliss.

Second-year linebacker JD Bertrand filled in for Deablo, who made one tackle before his exit. Bertrand tied Falcons safety Jessie Bates III and 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune with a game-high 10 tackles.

Penix, who was the Falcons' No. 8 overall draft pick last year, completed 21 of his 38 passes against the 49ers for 241 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice. This injury, Morris said, will lead to some limitations in Penix's play.

Penix has completed 61% of his passes this season for an average of 234.8 yards per game. He has thrown five touchdowns compared to three interceptions.

Veteran Kirk Cousins is Atlanta's backup. He signed a four-year deal with the Falcons last offseason, was initially the starter but performance issues led to his benching in Week 16. Penix has been the starter ever since.

The Falcons are now 3-3 and third in the NFC South after the Week 7 loss. Atlanta is set to host the 1-6 Miami Dolphins on Sunday for a Week 8 matchup inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Immerse yourself in the subtle drama of the Falcons-49ers meetup at Levi's Stadium with our monochrome snapshots from Week 7, shot on Sony.

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