FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons are expecting Michael Penix Jr. to start Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday afternoon that even though Penix will be limited in practice to start the week he confirmed Penix will start as long as everything goes according to plan.

"I won't go into specifics," Stefanski said, "but he's feeling better."

Penix injured his ribs in the waning minutes of the Falcons' Sunday night loss to the Ravens. Though he tried to work out the injury on the sideline from the end of the fourth quarter to overtime, he ultimately did not feel as though he could return to the game. Tua Tagovailoa entered the game at quarterback.

"I hated it," Penix said of being on the sideline during the game's final moments. "I hated that I couldn't get back in that game."

Keeping Penix on the field is a major boon for this offense. The Falcons went from the lowest scoring offense through Weeks 1-2 when Penix was on the sideline to the highest-scoring from Weeks 3-4 when he returned.

Even though Atlanta struggled offensively at times Sunday night, the unit under Penix's leadership is still one of the highest-ranked across the board.

Penix himself ranks second in the league amongst qualified quarterbacks in yards per attempt, yards per completion and explosive pass rate. He's fourth overall in first down passing attempts and sixth in completion rate (67.5%).

What's more, as an offense with Penix as the quarterback, the Falcons have gone from bottom quartile in the league in EPA (Expected Points Added) per play (32nd), the run (25th) and the pass (32nd) prior to him returning to the field to top 5 in Weeks 3-5 (EPA per play, 2nd, per pass (3rd) and per run (1st).

The Falcons' offense is statistically better when Penix is on the field. Baring any major setbacks or changes, he'll be back on the field quarterbacking the Falcons this Sunday against the Bears.