Michael Penix Possible After Falcons Coach Calls Out Kirk Cousins’s Poor Play in ‘MNF’ Win?

Desperate to snap a four-game losing streak and remain in the race for first place in the NFC South and the guaranteed playoff spot that comes with the divisional crown, the Atlanta Falcons flew into Las Vegas needed a win over the Raiders on Monday night.

With a national TV audience watching, the Dirty Birds got what the doctor ordered thanks to running back Bijan Robinson, who carried the team to victory by rushing for 125 yards on 22 carries (5.7 yards per carry).

Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who signed a four-year deal with Atlanta this offseason that included a $50 million signing bonus and $100 million guaranteed, was underwhelming once again for the Falcons and had his fifth straight game with a passer rating below 80.

Cousins (17 attempts, 11 completions, 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception, three sacks) only had one turnover against the Raiders, but still leads the league in both interceptions (16) and fumbles (12).

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For a team that entered the season with realistic playoff aspirations but now, at 7-7, will probably need to win out over the Giants, Commanders and Panthers and get some help in order to make the postseason, that level of quarterback play is unacceptable.

To his credit, Falcons coach Raheem Morris knows this and did not hold back when discussing his quarterback following Atlanta’s season-saving 15-9 win on Monday Night Football.

“He’s got to play better and obviously, you got to go back, you got to get to look at everything,” Morris said. “But he wants to play better. He’s got to play better. We’ve got to find a way to get him to play better.”

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Morris, who has previously said that 36-year-old Cousins won’t be benched for rookie Michael Penix, Jr., sounded open to the possibility of going with his second-string quarterback if his starter doesn’t improve. That switch is already going to happen eventually, but it sounds like there’s a chance the Falcons may roll with the QB they took with the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft in April before this season is over.

“We’ve got everybody on our roster for a reason, right?” Morris said with team owner Arthur Blank looking on. “We’ve got so much to get better at, and those things will always be discussed. That’s just the nature of the beast in football. It’s just so heavily talked about at the quarterback position, because there’s only one guy out there. So like for us, man, our mentality is to find a way to win the next game. That’s just the mentality that I’m going to have.”

Considering Morris’s comments about Cousins and Atlanta’s quarterback situation came after the Falcons won, you’ve got to wonder what he’ll say and do after his team’s next loss. Either way, Penix’s time appears to be nearly at hand.

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