The Falcons are making a stunning change.
The Atlanta Falcons made headlines on Tuesday when they announced the stunning decision to bench quarterback Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. Cousins has been playing some of the worst football of his career lately, so head coach Raheem Morris and the rest of the staff believe that Penix has the best chance of leading the Falcons to the playoffs.
After the move was announced, fans everywhere were stunned that Morris and the Falcons pulled the trigger on a move that has been discussed at length on the Internet in recent weeks.
“Needed to be done, but like, what’s the point this late into the year?” one fan questioned on X, formerly Twitter. “They trying to make a playoff push changing the most important position seems dangerous.” Another fan added, “It’s only a bombshell if you’re not a Falcons fan. I wish Kirk nothing but the best, but it’s obvious he’s either still not 100% or worse, he’s totally washed.”
Other fans immediately thought about the Falcons' puzzling offseason that saw them give Cousins a massive contract in free agency before drafting Penix with the No. 8 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
“I don’t think we’ll ever really understand just what, exactly, the Atlanta Falcons were thinking giving Kirk Cousins that giant-a** contract right before drafting a franchise quarterback,” one fan wrote. Another posted, “Doesn’t feel like an overreaction to say Kirk Cousins’ contract with Atlanta is comfortably the worst deal in NFL history. 4 years with 90 million guaranteed just to draft his replacement a month later and bench him after 14 games.”
Cousins had not played well over the last few weeks while the Falcons slid into a four-game losing streak that allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take control of the NFC South. During the losing streak, Cousins threw exactly zero touchdowns and eight interceptions, including a four-pick day during a very winnable game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Even in the Falcons' win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, Cousins and the rest of the Falcons' offense were not sharp in the way you would expect them to be against one of the worst teams in the NFL. For the evening, Cousins finished 11-for-17 with 112 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Falcons' passing game was non-existent once again outside of a blown coverage that resulted in a Drake London touchdown. And they repeatedly stalled out in Raiders territory, forcing them to settle for field goals.
Penix gives the Falcons an element of mobility that Cousins just couldn't provide coming off of a torn Achilles. He is also able to push the ball down the field in a way that Cousins hadn't been comfortable doing lately, so there's a chance that this Falcons offense becomes more explosive moving forward.
