{"id":220009,"date":"2025-07-19T17:48:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T17:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/220009\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T17:48:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T17:48:13","slug":"falcons-can-go-all-the-way-to-the-super-bowl-with-michael-penix-jr-leading-the-way-ray-ray-mccloud-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/220009\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons can ‘go all the way to the Super Bowl’ with Michael Penix Jr. leading the way, Ray-Ray McCloud says"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Falcons<\/a> haven’t reached the playoffs since 2017 — a seven-year skid that ranks among the NFL’s<\/a> longest, trailing only the New York Jets<\/a> (14 years). But with second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr<\/a>. taking the reins in 2025, some in Atlanta aren’t just thinking postseason — they’re thinking Super Bowl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I’m excited, and I’m not gonna be surprised by any of it,” Falcons wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud<\/a> told<\/a> Pro Football Network recently. “I’ve watched [Penix] every day for the last year at practice, and I’m just ready to see him go into an experienced year, a polished year, and see how it goes — go all the way to the Super Bowl.”<\/p>\n

Penix\u00a0took over as Atlanta’s starting quarterback for the final three games of the 2024 season, going 1-2 down the stretch with both losses coming in overtime. He made a strong first impression, guiding the Falcons to a 34-7 rout of the New York Giants<\/a> in his debut.<\/p>\n

While Penix is set to lead the Falcons in 2025, veteran Kirk Cousins<\/a> remains on the roster after Atlanta was unable to find a trade partner this offseason. His presence adds depth and experience to the quarterback room as the team transitions to its promising young signal caller, who was selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Despite some early struggles, the Falcons offense showed promise with Penix at quarterback, averaging 32.0 points per game during his three starts. He completed 58% of his passes for 737 yards, throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions. Penix’s strong finish included a 312-yard, two-touchdown performance against Carolina, plus a rushing score. From Weeks 16 to 18, he ranked eighth in passing yards and third in yards per completion across the NFL, signaling big potential heading into 2025.<\/p>\n

Penix won’t be short on weapons in his first full season as QB1. Wideout Drake London<\/a> is coming off a breakout year, posting career highs with 100 catches, 1,271 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Darnell Mooney<\/a> also emerged as a reliable option in the passing game, while tight end Kyle Pitts<\/a> enters a pivotal contract year with plenty to prove.<\/p>\n

“Got to get into the postseason,” Penix told the team’s official website<\/a>. “Seeing the Dirty Bird Nest and all the little highlights and fans. Man, they get rocking whenever we winning. So, I definitely want to get back to that. Winning football games so we can have the city turnt.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Falcons haven’t reached the playoffs since 2017 — a seven-year skid that ranks among the NFL’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,6709,4130,224,7,294,6153,1879,56,255,6,11407],"class_list":{"0":"post-220009","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-darnell-mooney","12":"tag-drake-london","13":"tag-falcons","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-kirk-cousins","16":"tag-kyle-pitts","17":"tag-michael-penix-jr","18":"tag-new-york-giants","19":"tag-new-york-jets","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-ray-ray-mccloud"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114881161833359469","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}