ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 23: Kirk Cousins #18 of the Atlanta Falcons warms up prior to an NFL preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 23, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Falcons announced Tuesday that rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. would start the team’s next game against the New York Giants. That news comes in the wake of a four-game losing skid followed by a six-point win over the struggling Raiders in which Kirk Cousins tossed just one touchdown – and nine interceptions.
Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons this past offseason. With the starting position seemingly filled for the mid-term, it was the shock of the NFL Draft when the team took Penix with the eighth pick.
Penix had a breakout year in the 2023-24 college football season, leading the Washington Huskies to the national championship game with 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns. Much concern about the pick, however, stemmed from his age – Penix is now 24 years old – and the injuries that kept him sidelined for the beginning of his college football career.
Now, he’ll start a Week 16 NFL game for a fringe playoff contender.
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Falcons head coach Raheem Morris made the call after the team’s narrow win over the Raiders in which Cousins attempted just 17 passes. Later, speaking to reporters, he cited Cousins’ turnovers – he leads the NFL in both interceptions (16) and fumbles (12, tied with Baker Mayfield).
“It’s pro football, and there’s a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that, unfortunately, I wasn’t playing up to that standard consistently enough,” Cousins said, discussing his benching. “And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready – ‘one play away’ kind of a thing – and support [Penix] and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Morris said that Cousins told him he would be the “best No. 2 quarterback in the National Football League.”
Penix voiced his own excitement to start, but made sure to credit Cousins with his mentorship and leadership of the team. “The way he processes, the way he speaks to the team – in meetings, on the field – you know, just the command he has…I was in the huddle today and walk-throughs, and I just remembered some of the stuff he did and the way he said it, you know, because I – I look up to Kirk.”
The Falcons are 7-7 and in second place in the NFC South, behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A hot start has made sure that they’ve stayed on the fringes of the playoff bubble despite their recent struggles.
In Week 16, though, time is running out. All the Falcons can do is cross their fingers and hope that their first-round gamble worked out.
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