The Ahtletic's Chris Burke identified a few of the top rookie matchups that appear on the 2024 NFL schedule. One of the matchups that should surprise most will be played in week 12 between the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos.
The Falcons’ Penix pick was an absolute jaw-dropping draft moment, if for no other reason than Penix has nowhere to play for a bit. This won’t be the QB matchup come Week 12 unless Kirk Cousins suffers another injury or absolutely bombs as Atlanta’s starting QB. Nix also still has to wrestle the Broncos’ job away from Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham, but it’d be a disappointment if he can’t.
While on the surface, this does feel like the contractually obligated mention of the Falcons' surprise pick of Penix in the first round, there is merit to Penix being an option in 2024. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is coming off a full Achilles tear that ended his season eight weeks in. An injury that The Athletic's injury expert Greg Scholz states is rare due to the strength of the tendon. To add on, Scholz states that the average time to heal the injury is about four to six months for us civilians that don't need our bodies to "perform at an extremely high level on a daily basis."
So far, there is nothing to say that Cousins could re-injure the Achilles or anything else for that matter as his recovery process has been steadily improving, starting with this viral video that may or may not have been strategically dropped in the middle of the free agency frenzy.
Almost 4 months in now…encouraged by the progress! Grateful tor all the help around us pic.twitter.com/s6udNzo9VO
— Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8) February 26, 2024
However, if Cousins were to go down and Penix's tenure as a Falcon started early, the possible Pac-12 championship rematch in week 12 would be a game to highlight.
Nix is currently 0-3 going head-to-head against Penix, including a 34-31 heartbreaker in the Pac-12 championship where Penix won MVP after completing 27 of his 39 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown. Nix ended the day 21-of-34 for 239 yards and three touchdowns of his own. He also led his team on the ground with 69 rushing yards.