Penix says pain prevented his return and worsened while he sat Michael Penix Jr.
: “I got hit pretty good and was just trying to get back out there. I did take some throws on the sideline just to see how I felt, and I did not feel like I was going to be able to give our team what we needed to help us win that football game because of the pain that I was feeling. I feel like if we had the ball first in overtime, I probably would have been out there. But as we were sitting, what I was going through just started getting worse and worse. I was getting cold.”
Daniel Flick·
Rees and the Falcons grew a step closer to accomplishing their mission Monday night, as Pitts, who had only two catches in the season's first three games, caught three passes for 47 yards in New Orleans. Pitts' biggest highlight was an explosive 28-yard catch-and-run on an underneath pass from Penix, which illustrated his run-after-catch ability. The Falcons spent much of the offseason program using Pitts in ways where he could put his post-catch playmaking skills on display, but opportunities haven't come often. For the Falcons to meet their ceiling offensively, Pitts' involvement needs to take another step. The Falcons have run plays with two or more tight ends on the field 45% of the time, the fifth-highest rate in the league, according to Sharp Football Analysis. For such a high usage rate, Pitts' production should — and the Falcons expect it will — be higher.
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