The Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons collide on Sunday Night Football in a huge contest in the NFC playoff race.

Falcons star Michael Penix Jr. snatched back first place in the NFC South from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a victory in his first NFL start.

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Johnny Newton is a former running back and claims he still has the speed[/caption]

Fellow rookie Jayden Daniels threw five touchdowns to continue his stellar season in a comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles to leave the 10-5 Commanders in the NFC’s seventh and final playoff spot.

The young quarterbacks go toe-to-toe at Northwest Stadium and Penix Jr. will spot a familiar face lining up opposite him.

Washington selected defensive lineman Johnny Newton in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft.

His relationship with Penix Jr. goes back to high school in Florida and they even share the same agents – Reggie Johnson and Tory Dandy.

“I knew Mike since high school,” he exclusively told talkSPORT. “We’re from probably like 15 minutes away from each other, 20 minutes away.

“I knew Mike before. Mike was this big superstar. Back when he was in high school with the same kind of hair I got playing basketball.

“Just seeing the journey that he had from Indiana to Washington to now the Falcons is crazy.

“Me and Mike have the same agent. So I started the trash talk already.

“Playing against somebody you grew up knowing, it’s really cool seeing that Mike is a starting quarterback now. I’m really happy for him. But not this week. Toned it down a little bit this week.

“But it’s really cool seeing somebody like that get into that position. And I’m happy for him.”

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Penix Jr. is making his second NFL start in Washington[/caption]

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Newton is enjoying a solid rookie campaign[/caption]

Penix Jr., who hails from Dade City, showed plenty of promise in his first outing as a starter – a 34-7 demolition of the New York Giants.

There have been claims he could be the most talented QB of his class, although Daniels would have plenty to say about that.

St. Petersburg native Newton has a front-row seat to the dual-threat monster in practice.

“Oh man, that kid is fast, for sure,” he added. “Whatever we see him play in the game, we feel bad for the defensive line, but we know the feeling already.

“It’s pretty cool seeing it come to life, what he did in practice, it’s almost outrageous what he does.

“It’s just him though. He’s the same person every single day he comes in the locker room.

“He’s just another guy, honestly, outside of the field. He’s just one of the boys. So seeing what he does on the field, it’s crazy.”

Newton underwent surgeries to fix Jones fractures in both of his feet this year.

But he warned his old friend that he is fully fit and has the speed to add to his two sacks this season.

“I feel like I’m back to speed,” he explained. “I didn’t have a whole off-season while everybody had an off-season from January till August, I was recovering from one foot to another.

“I feel really good now though. Feel really excited. My body feels great. Just excited to be out there.

“I used to play running back in my day. I always tell people I’m not a defensive lineman, I’m an athlete.

“I still got the speed, the running back speed in me. Just got the D-line body now.”

You can watch the full interview and much, much more on talkSPORT’s End Zone YouTube channel