Michael Penix Jr. was holding several pieces of memorabilia from his rookie season, including the football the quarterback carried for his first career rushing touchdown in Week 18 against the Carolina Panthers.

An Atlanta Falcons public relations staffer, and even a member of the media, offered to hang on to them while he addressed the media Jan. 6, the day after the end of the Falcons' season.

"Nope," Penix said. "I don't want nobody holding these."

Penix had a memorable final three games of the 2024 season. After replacing the benched Kirk Cousins in Week 16, Penix led the Falcons to a 34-7 win over the New York Giants in his first start. He became the second Atlanta quarterback to win his debut by double digits, joining Matt Ryan.

In his second game, Penix threw a game-tying touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Pitts with less than four minutes left on the road against the Washington Commanders. The Falcons couldn't pull off the victory in overtime -- a loss that ultimately cost them the playoffs -- but that was more on the defense than Penix. In the regular-season finale against the Panthers, Penix was 21-of-38 for 312 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The end of the season was bittersweet for Falcons fans. Atlanta has not made the playoffs or had a winning season since 2017, but Penix showed enough down the stretch to make the fans -- and the Falcons -- believe in him as their franchise quarterback.

Penix, 24, will now have a full offseason ahead of him and will be the starting quarterback from Day 1 in 2025. With running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and Pitts, Penix has confidence in what lies ahead for the Falcons. All three of those skill players are under 25 years old.

"I feel like we're the best, player for player," Penix said. "I feel like we're the best out there. We just got to go do it."

Penix said in an interview with Pro Football Talk during Super Bowl week that he might not get all of his receivers together in one place during the offseason, but he plans on traveling to wherever they are to work with them.

"I've talked to those guys, and we are looking forward to working this offseason, and we're going to start back really soon," Penix said.

Pitts has had the spotlight on him as the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, and he'll be under the microscope even more going into the final year of his rookie contract. Pitts' production has fallen off since a record-breaking rookie season that saw him catch 68 balls for 1,026 yards and a touchdown. He was the first tight end in two decades to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

With Penix throwing to him, Pitts had seven receptions in his final three games after having six in his previous four outings. Penix's first career touchdown pass -- the game-tying score against the Commanders on fourth-and-13 -- was to Pitts, and it was a tremendous diving catch.

"For him, it is believing in himself," Penix told Pro Football Talk. "For me, I'm going to believe in him. He knows that. I just talked to him the other day, and we just talked about some of the things that we want to do, and it's like, 'All right, I'm going to give you my all each and every day, and I want you to do the same.' And once we do that, our connection is going to continue to build."

Penix didn't start throwing to the Falcons' starters much until he took over as QB1. So, whatever Penix does during the offseason, including OTAs and training camp, will be vitally important for a 2025 Falcons offense with a ton of potential. That fact is not lost on him.

The chemistry with Penix and London has already begun to develop. London had 10 catches for a career-high 187 yards and two touchdowns in Week 18.

"With the quarterback and receivers, it's about timing," Penix said on locker clean-out day. "Everything is about timing, that connection that y'all build. And that's something that grows each and every day. ... And what we showed [against the Panthers], it just started -- something special -- and it's only going to get better."