Falcons say Michael Penix on track to start against Bears - ESPN

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will start Sunday against the visiting Chicago Bears despite a rib injury, as long as there are no setbacks during the week, coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday.

Penix will practice in limited fashion Wednesday, Stefanski said.

In Sunday night's home loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Penix took a big hit late in the fourth quarter and came out of the game. He returned one play later, but when the tie game went into overtime, Tua Tagovailoa entered as the Falcons' quarterback.

The Ravens scored a touchdown on their first drive in OT, and Tagovailoa threw a game-ending interception.

Penix had imaging done earlier this week, but Stefanski said he didn't want to get into specifics about the extent of the rib injury. Stefanski said Penix is «feeling better.»

Regarding snap share this week in practice, Stefanski said all of that will depend on Penix.

«I want to see how he's feeling,» Stefanski said. «With any injury like this, you want to make sure as they move around and how they're feeling — it could be all, some, none. We shall see.»

Penix, 26, just returned to the Falcons' lineup in Week 3 after ACL surgery on his left knee last November.

Without him and Tagovailoa (oblique) to start the season, the Atlanta offense, led by third-stringer Cooper Rush, scored a combined 16 points in two weeks. The following two weeks, with Penix back, the Falcons crushed the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints on the road, scoring a combined 80 points, a league high during that stretch.