With the 7-7 Atlanta Falcons trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, head coach Raheem Morris benched struggling quarterback Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. for Sunday’s home game against the 2-12 New York Giants.
Penix spoke with reporters on Wednesday for the first time as Atlanta’s QB1 and didn’t hide the fact that he’ll probably have some butterflies in his stomach at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I ain’t going to lie, I’m going to be nervous running out of that tunnel,” Penix admitted, as shared by Terrin Waack of the Falcons’ website. “But whenever I get on the field, it’s a whole different mentality, a flipped switch. I’m ready to go.”
Penix presumably could see the writing on the wall, as speculation regarding Morris making the move had hovered over the Falcons for weeks. Cousins was responsible for eight interceptions and zero touchdown passes over four consecutive losses before he completed just 11-of-17 pass attempts for 112 yards with a score and a pick in an unimpressive 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders this past Monday night. It’s since been said that the 36-year-old, who suffered a torn Achilles in October 2023, has a “dead” arm because of “his inability to use his lower body to muster full power on his throws.”
To his credit, Cousins said on Wednesday he would “support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three [games] to get in the playoffs.” Later in the day, Penix noted he has studied Cousins throughout the campaign.
“Just the way he processed, the way he speaks to the team in meetings on the field, just the command he has to the offense, getting things the way that he wanted so that he could play fast,” Penix said about what he’s learned from Cousins, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “I look up to Kirk and, to be honest, Kirk couldn’t do no wrong in my eyes, so it was like, dang, when I saw him in camp leading all the way up through the season, he’s special.”
While Atlanta trails the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) by one game in the race for the NFC South division title, the Falcons beat the Buccaneers twice earlier in the campaign. Thus, Penix has a realistic chance to be a season-savior for Atlanta beginning with the Giants game.
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Falcons as 8.5-point favorites over Big Blue.
“I just got to be myself,” Penix added. “I don’t feel like I got to be anybody else. I don’t have to try too hard to be the big leader, the vocal leader. Just be myself. Trust in my preparation and bring everybody along with me.”
