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Penix and Williams Set to Return in Falcons vs. Bears Matchup
Confirmed
In Short: Williams completed his first 12 passes in his return from a hamstring injury, and D'Andre Swift ran for two touchdowns in the Bears' 31-23 victory over the Falcons.
Michael Penix Jr., the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback, is on track to start despite suffering a rib injury during the team's overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week.
Penix was injured late in the fourth quarter against Baltimore and briefly returned for one play but did not participate in the overtime possession.
The Falcons monitored Penix throughout the week, and his full participation in practice provided a positive sign for his availability.
Meanwhile, Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears is also set to return after a hamstring injury that sidelined him.
Williams' performance was remarkable, with Pro Football Reference’s Stathead tool indicating that he completed all 24 of his passes from a clean pocket, the most attempts without an incompletion since 2018.
Both quarterbacks indicated they were feeling better, although the full extent of their injuries was not publicly disclosed.
The Falcons will face the Bears in Week 6, with both teams looking to bounce back from recent losses.
Ben Johnson, the Bears' coach, told ESPN Chicago that Williams will likely miss some time and is labeled as week-to-week.
The Bears' strong start diminished the effectiveness of Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who had only nine carries for 61 yards.
Both teams are eager to return to form, with Penix and Williams' returns providing a boost to their respective offenses.
Williams refused to reveal the medical grade of his hamstring tear, citing privacy concerns.
The Falcons will look to get their season back on track against a Chicago team that is also preparing to welcome Caleb Williams back.
What this adds
The extent of Penix's rib injury and Williams' hamstring tear remains undisclosed, adding uncertainty to their full recovery.
The Bears' and Falcons' performances in the upcoming game will be closely watched to gauge the impact of the quarterbacks' returns.
What's confirmed
- The Atlanta Falcons will face the Chicago Bears in Week 6.
What's still developing
- He briefly returned for one play but did not come back onto the field for overtime, leaving Tagovailoa to lead the offense.
- With Penix back at practice and no longer carrying an injury designation, Atlanta has reason to feel encouraged heading into Sunday’s game.
- Finally cleared to play, Williams performed as if determined to make up for lost time.
- “I didn’t know that I went 30 for 36, and so I've got to go obviously back and watch the tape,” Williams said when asked if this was his best game.
- The Falcons didn't score again until Penix found Kyle Pitts on a 10-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter.
- “So what we’ll look at that. We had some penalty issues early in the season. Last few weeks we cleaned those up significantly. This one is kind of back up again."
- "I thought our identity and play style showed up in all three phases: swarming on defense, finishing on offense, and then we had a couple new faces bounce back for us between Kyler on defense and Caleb on offense. They gave us big sparks."
- Williams refused to reveal the medical grade of what he called a "pretty serious" hamstring tear, shutting down reporters pressing for clarity on why he kept the diagnosis private.
- New York, September 05 (H.S.): Tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams marked their return to the US Open women’s doubles competition after four years, but their comeback ended in defeat after a thrilling three-set battle against Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint.
- Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered.
- Keenum started the game because Williams is sidelined with a hamstring injury and second-stringer Tyson Bagent was not cleared from concussion protocol until Sunday.
- Quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Josh Allen threw for 269 and 334 yards respectively as the Chicago Bears and the Buffalo Bills won on the road After kicking off the season with a Super Bowl rematch and a trip to Australia, week one continued with a record-breaking Sunday.