The Falcons head to the bullpen.
Atlanta announced Tuesday that Michael Penix Jr. has earned the starting quarterback spot in place of the struggling Kirk Cousins, with head coach Raheem Morris calling the move a “football decision.” .
The Falcons were able to leave Las Vegas with a win on Monday night, but Cousins' productivity has lagged in recent weeks.
Morris was asked directly whether Cousins would remain the starting quarterback on Tuesday after he bluntly stated during his postgame media availability that Cousins needed to play better.
He failed to give a vote of confidence.
“We just got back. We still have to go through that process.” morris said. “All of these things are going to happen in one week. We didn't play well enough at the quarterback position.”
Cousins threw for just 112 yards on Monday, or just 6.6 yards per attempt.
In his last five games combined, he has one touchdown and nine interceptions.
The Falcons shocked the world by selecting Penix in the first round of the NFL draft earlier this year — after signing Cousins to a maximum-year contract, the Giants took over from Washington and selected Malik Nabors with the sixth overall pick. Obtained with. $180 million at the beginning of the offseason.
Morris admitted Cousins has lost some confidence in his struggles.
“There's a way to get it back.” morris said. “That's our job. It's everyone's job. We all need support at some point. We have to play better at that position.”
The silver lining for the 7-7 Falcons is that they are just one game behind the 8-6 Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South.
The Falcons maintained a tiebreaker with the Bucks as Atlanta swept the season series.
After Monday night's game, Morris was clearly unhappy with Cousins' play.
“He's got to play better and obviously he's got to go back and look at everything.” he told reporters. “But he wants to play better. He has to play better. We have to find a way to make him play better.”
Cousins knew he needed to improve his game.
“I thought we needed to play better the last few weeks,” the quarterback said. “Raheem says that, but it’s stating the obvious and every week I’m going to go through my process and go out there and play the best I can, so this week is no different. ”
