Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris benched struggling quarterback Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr., which went about as well as Morris could have hoped. Penix helped the Falcons earn a dominant 34-7 win over the New York Giants on Sunday, improving Atlanta to 8-7.
Following that victory, Morris expanded on why he chose to sit Cousins with just three games left on the schedule.
“The decision had to be made just based off of pure football performance,” Morris told NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “We weren’t playing well enough. At the same time, I was also thankful to [Cousins] for putting us in position to be where we’re at right now, to be competitive, to be in a playoff race. This guy got us up to 6–3, really got us going, and for whatever reason couldn’t keep up that play that he had at the beginning of the season. I had to make the change.”
Cousins produced five straight duds and tossed one touchdown pass with nine interceptions over those outings before Morris went to Penix. It’s since been said that Cousins was dealing with a “dead” arm and had “nicked his elbow and shoulder” in Atlanta’s Week 10 game at the New Orleans Saints last month. Meanwhile, Penix completed 18-of-27 passes for 202 yards with no scores and a pick against the pitiful Giants (2-13).
Despite such unspectacular numbers, the eighth selection of the 2024 NFL Draft impressed his coach and seemingly injected life into an offense that desperately needed a spark.
“He is a very special talent, and it’s especially his arm talent,” Morris said about Penix. “When you have that, anything can happen. For us, when we drafted him, we figured he was our future and he could take us places. So I can’t wait to come in and prepare for next week and watch him play again.”
The Falcons now sit atop the NFC South standings since they earned two wins over the 8-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the season. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Atlanta as a four-point underdog for the upcoming “Sunday Night Football” game at the 10-5 Washington Commanders.
