ATLANTA — Michael Penix isn’t the main reason the Falcons beat the Giants on Sunday. They didn’t need him to make many winning plays. Their defense scored two touchdowns and New York’s awful offense had no chance of making up a big margin. But Penix made the right plays and, more importantly, none that hurt the Falcons.

Penix was solid in his first career start. That was plenty good enough for the Falcons to rout the Giants 34-7.

“I can’t be more pleased with the way the team played today, they really rallied behind a young man,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “He went out and played almost flawless football and kept the game really clean.”

That was a welcome change for the Falcons. Kirk Cousins lost the starting job because he too often put them in peril by throwing interceptions. Penix got his first career start and threw one interception that wasn’t his fault and otherwise protected the ball.

Penix also delivered accurate throws into tight windows before defenders had time to react. That was new, too. Cousins struggled to make quick decisions as his confidence declined and his passes were easy for defenders to prey on because they lacked zip.

Penix had 202 yards passing on 27 attempts with six completions of 15 yards or more. Those numbers would have been better if not for a couple of drops by Falcons receivers. Penix’s interception was the result of Kyle Pitts bobbling a ball near the goal line.

Penix didn’t throw a touchdown pass. He came close when Bijan Robinson made it to the two-yard line on a catch in the third quarter. Robinson told Penix he should have scored on that play.

“I told him it’s all good,” Penix said. “We won the football game.”

That bottom line is important. The Falcons (8-7) needed to beat the Giants (2-13) to have a realistic chance of making the playoffs. The Giants came to town with a nine-game losing streak. But the Falcons struggled to beat the equally awful Raiders in Week 15. They started a rookie at quarterback in week 16.

Penix’s teammates didn’t help him early. Ray-Ray McCloud dropped a deep pass on the game’s first play. Two plays later, Penix delivered a sharp pass to Drake London for a 19-yard gain. But later in the drive, London dropped a short pass when he had plenty of room to run. The drive ended with a missed 43-yard field goal attempt by fill-in kicker Riley Patterson.

Eventually, Penix and his pass targets found a rhythm. He said he felt some nerves before the game. Once it started, he never looked rattled or unsure of what he was doing.

“He was cool, calm and collected,” Robinson said.

Said Penix: “Once I hit the field, (the nervousness) goes away. It’s the game I’ve been playing since I was five-years old. Obviously, it’s a difference at a higher level but it’s the same game I just got to go out there execute.”

The Falcons selected Penix No. 8 overall in the draft. They didn’t plan on giving him important snaps this season. Cousins’ struggles left them little choice. He’d been among the NFL’s worst starters for a month. The Falcons weren’t going to make the playoffs with incompetent quarterback play, so they turned to Penix.

It was a desperate move by the Falcons. They needed a positive first return from Penix and got it.

“It wasn’t a relief,” Morris said. “For me, it was more of a sense of pride.”

It will take time to see if Penix is the answer for the Falcons at quarterback. He already makes their offense more dynamic.

That was the thing I noticed most about Penix first career start. He moves in ways that Cousins couldn’t, and that makes the Falcons harder to defend. It creates more options for play-caller Zac Robinson, who’d been handcuffed by Cousins’ lack of mobility.

The Falcons favor outside zone runs. Those plays have been effective because of Robinson’s vision and cutback ability, and the offensive line’s blocking. But the Falcons had been missing out on one of the main benefits of being good at outside zone runs—bootleg passes after run fakes — because of Cousins’ lost athleticism following Achilles surgery last year.

That element of the offense was back against the Giants. Penix rolled out of the pocket often and moved well inside it. Edge defenders no longer could ignore the Falcons’ quarterback on bootleg handoffs and focus on the running backs. Adding those elements to the offense should help the Falcons as they try to win their final two games and catch the Buccaneers in race for the NFC South title.

The Falcons play at Washington next weekend. The Commanders (10-5) entered the weekend ranked fourth in passing yards allowed per game and sixth in sacks per pass attempt. They were fourth in scoring offense. The Falcons will have to produce points against a defense that figures to be a much tougher test for Penix than the Giants.

“Each and every day I practice to make sure I’m preparing and make sure that when game time comes, that we’re 100% ready and we’ve got everything down,” Penix said.

Penix was ready for his debut. Now, the Falcons go to Washington with more confidence that they’ll get competent play from their quarterback.

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