The Atlanta Falcons are making an unusual quarterback change despite still being squarely in the NFC playoff hunt.
Season-long starter Kirk Cousins has been benched by the team in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. as it approaches a Week 16 tilt with the New York Giants.
“This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game,” head coach Raheem Morris said in a statement Tuesday.
Atlanta (7-7) is currently outside the playoff picture but is still given a 36% chance to qualify with three games remaining.
Cousins, 36, had been struggling under center recently, throwing his first touchdown pass Sunday since Nov. 3. Atlanta had lost four straight since that date until defeating the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.
Morris was noncommittal on a quarterback change as late as Tuesday afternoon in which he told reporters in a news conference (h/t ESPN), “we didn’t play well enough [at] the quarterback position,” but did not indicate an imminent benching.
Now Penix Jr., who was selected No. 8 overall in April, will get his first career start in the league on Sunday, thrust into the spotlight which was mired in controversy from the moment he was picked.
Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year $180M contract in the offseason, so when the team selected Penix in the first round it confused fans and pundits.
It appears now the rationale behind that decision is coming ever more clear.
Penix led the NCAA in passing yards in 2023 when he took the Washington Huskies to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
He’ll now have the opportunity to prove he was a worthy first-round selection against New York, which has been struggling much more than Atlanta in all facets.
Penix has been named Atlanta’s starter “moving forward,” but it is unclear if Cousins will have an opportunity to try and win back the job if the team qualifies for the playoffs.
