Michael Penix Jr. Rib Injury Not Considered Serious

Michael Penix Jr. dodged the worst. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback's rib injury from Sunday night's 30-23 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens is not considered serious, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday, and he might be able to play this Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

That is the difference between a season that stays on the rails and one that slides back into the ditch. Atlanta is 2-3, and the team wants to see Penix practice this week before deciding anything, per ESPN. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said he could "probably answer that better Wednesday," per the AJC.

The hit that changed overtime

With the game tied 23-23 late in the fourth quarter, Penix was sacked by Ravens edge Tavius Robinson and stayed down on the grass before coming off with a trainer, per ESPN. Tua Tagovailoa came in for one snap and hit Bijan Robinson for 14 yards on second-and-20. Penix returned and threw the ball away under pressure before Atlanta punted, per CBS Sports.

Baltimore took the ball first in overtime and put together a touchdown drive that lasted more than seven minutes. Penix watched with a towel over his head. Tagovailoa hit Drake London for 20 yards on the first snap of Atlanta's possession, then Kyle Hamilton picked him off on the next one to end it.

"I did take some throws on the sideline just to see how I felt, and I did not feel like I was gonna be able to give our team what we needed to help us win that football game because of the pain that I was feeling," Penix said, per CBS Sports. He added that if Atlanta had gotten the ball first in overtime, he probably would have been out there, but the pain got worse as he sat and got cold.

Before he left, Penix was 19 of 32 for 240 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, per ESPN.

Why Atlanta needs him back

Penix only returned from ACL surgery in Week 3. Atlanta scored a combined 16 points in the first two weeks with Cooper Rush starting, then a league-high 80 points in Penix's first two games back, per ESPN. CBS Sports has the Falcons scoring 34.3 points per game with Penix under center and 8 with anyone else, with Penix at 3 touchdowns and 1 interception against 1 and 6 for the rest of the room.

Stefanski did not want to get into the results of the imaging and X-rays on Monday. "Just with any type of injury, I always want to see how the guys respond over a couple days before I can give you a good answer there," he said, per the AJC.

Penix already gave his own answer. "Knowing me, I'mma be ready to go next week because I've sat out enough my career," he said after the game.

Bears week in Atlanta

The Bears come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 3-2, and Chicago may get its own quarterback back. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said "all signs point" to Caleb Williams returning from his hamstring injury in Week 6, per NBC Sports.

If Penix gets through the practice week without a setback, this is the game that tells Atlanta whether the turnaround was real. A healthy Penix against a returning Caleb Williams is exactly the Sunday Falcons fans wanted when he got back on the field. If the ribs do not cooperate, it is Tua again, and nobody in Atlanta wants a replay of that overtime.