ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. rose from the cold bench on the Falcons' sideline. He'd spent much of the previous few minutes speaking with trainers, and overtime of Sunday Night Football was imminent.
Penix had taken a big hit in the final moments of regulation, remaining on the field for several minutes as trainers tended to him. He eventually walked to the sideline and sat with trainers gathered around him, asking how he felt and checking his side and ribs.
The quarterback — who, to that point, had converted third-and-long after third-and-long — was preparing to return to the game. He was in discomfort, yes, but he was trying to work through it. Stretching. Throwing. Talking to trainers.
That mentality, that drive, it didn't surprise his teammates.
"Mike's a really big competitor, and he's a really tough guy," Chris Lindstrom said. "And so, expect nothing less from him for his attempt to do that."
But the Ravens won the toss and received the ball first. The ensuing drive spanned 14 plays, 63 yards and seven minutes. As the minutes ticked away, the adrenaline coursing through Penix's body began to wane.
Eventually, Penix realized he couldn't return to the field.
"I did not feel like I was going to be able to give our team what we needed to be able to win that football game because of the pain that I was feeling," Penix explained.
Had the Falcons won the toss and received the ball first in overtime, Penix said he felt he probably could have taken the field.
"I tried to get up and move around," Penix said. "I tried to get up and throw, see how I felt. I didn't feel the way I wanted to feel."
Alas, as the Ravens' drive continued, Penix's chances of returning grew slimmer.
"It just started to get worse and worse as we were sitting there," he said. "I was just getting cold."
By the time the Ravens' drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyler Huntley, Tua Tagovailoa was taking the field with the Falcons' offense. Penix, overcome with emotion, sat on the bench with a towel covering his head.
Two plays into Atlanta's final drive, Tagovailoa threw an interception, ending the game and the Falcons' prime-time winning streak.
"I just felt like I needed to be out there," Penix said of the emotions he was feeling. "... How I grew up, how I was raised, it was always, man, fight through it, fight through it. I was trying my best, but I knew I wasn't where I needed to be for us to go win a football game in that moment."
The Falcons will have Penix undergo further imaging Monday, but the quarterback said he doesn't believe the injury will keep him out long term.
"Knowing me, I am going to be ready to go next week because I've sat out enough in my career," Penix said. "I am going to do everything I can in the training room to make sure I get back to where I want to be.
"... I will work my tail off to make sure I'm back out there on that field."
For Penix, who has endured plenty throughout his college and professional career, being unable to return to the field ate him up inside.
"I hated that," he said. "I hated that I couldn't get back in that game."
Now, his teammates are left hoping for a return to full strength, too.
"I just pray he's alright," Bijan Robinson said. "I know the whole team does."
Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Week 5.
