Atlanta is still in the race for the NFC South title, despite another rough game from quarterback Kirk Cousins, which led the Falcons to bench him in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr.
The Falcons won 15-9 against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, bringing their record to 7-7, just one game behind Tampa Bay in the division.
The Falcons have the tiebreaker advantage over the Buccaneers, which led coach Raheem Morris to say after the game, “That’s where you want to be.”
Cousins threw for only 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the win against the Raiders. He shared a disappointed view of his performance, saying, “It’s not where I want to be.”
On Tuesday, Morris announced that Penix will be the starting quarterback for Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants.
“This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game,” Morris said in a statement.
Cousins entered the Las Vegas game without any touchdown passes in his previous four games, and eight interceptions. He broke his touchdown drought with a 30-yard pass to Drake London in the first quarter but couldn’t build on that success and threw his league-leading 16th interception.
The Raiders (2-12) have the worst record in the league, tied with the Giants, who will bring a nine-game losing streak to Atlanta. The Falcons will then play Washington (9-5) and close their season at home against Carolina (3-11).
Morris had said last week that he didn’t want to rush Penix, who has only played in two games and didn’t play against the Raiders.
He also noted that keeping Cousins as the starter for 14 games “has nothing to do with non-belief” in Penix.
“But he is a rookie, and we have a plan. We have had a plan from the beginning on how we want to utilize and play our rookie when it’s time,” Morris explained.
Morris mentioned that some coaches put players in too early, which didn’t work out, and he didn’t want to make that mistake.
Cousins, 36, signed a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason, and the Falcons selected Penix with the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft. Morris said the Falcons have always believed Penix is their future starting quarterback.
That future begins now.
