He wasn’t named the starting quarterback after being drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons, but former Washington Huskies legend Michael Penix Jr. is finally getting his shot at starting in the NFL. With Kirk Cousins making his way to the bench, Penix is apparently set to start for the Falcons moving forward.
The Falcons (finally) announced the move (that was probably weeks overdue) after Cousins struggled against the Las Vegas Raiders in a low scoring Monday Night Football matchup. And it’s fair. Cousins only managed to throw for 112 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against Las Vegas on Monday.
Now the Falcons are turning to Penix to try and end the season on a high note.
Atlanta Falcons trust Washington Huskies legend Michael Penix Jr. after benching Kirk Cousins
And here’s how media members are reacting to the news:
https://t.co/tbVVU35Luk pic.twitter.com/yi9tDn0QbH
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 18, 2024
Whoa! Big move. But the correct one. We will break this all down on #FFHappyHour tomorrow. https://t.co/Jo6bYDBYiY
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) December 18, 2024
The Falcons are going all in on Penix pretty late in the season. Will it pay off? Honestly, no clue. This feels like a move that is way overdue given the situation that Atlanta is in heading into the last few weeks of the season.
Take the floaties off and drop the baby in the deep end of the pool. Dirty Birds relying on a rookie QB to spark a playoff push.. Wow! https://t.co/tZ56f4fE48
— Bucky Brooks (@BuckyBrooks) December 18, 2024
https://t.co/u7pe3SP4WD pic.twitter.com/mGwdMJPsyt
— Josh Kirshenbaum (@J_Kirshenbaum) December 18, 2024
But hey, better late than never, right?
The whole situation is kinda dumb though. Atlanta spent a ton of money on Kirk Cousins for just a couple handfuls of starts. If you want to play the “what if” game, it’d be fun to start wondering if the Falcons could have accomplished something similar by just focusing more on building the roster around their first round draft pick quarterback.
Falcons basically abandoning the pass on first-and-10 last night told you what the organization thought of Cousins's situation. They're going to end up paying $85 million or so for about ten pretty good Cousins starts, which is a disaster. https://t.co/2oCTuDpxG9
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 18, 2024
It’s time folks…The OFFENSE needs a #Spark & the keys are being handed over to #Rookie Michael Penix Jr… aka Mr. Durag himself https://t.co/6gbbvNkRql pic.twitter.com/detWYEUDQ7
— Harry Douglas (@HDouglas83) December 18, 2024
Activated https://t.co/24rjJh9N7q pic.twitter.com/rbCSs9bl5g
— Shannon Penn (@Shannon_Penn) December 18, 2024
Now we’ll see if the Falcons can successfully end the season on a high note and sneak into the playoffs. Atlanta is sitting at 7-7 on the season and the Falcons need a hot streak down the stretch to clinch a playoff spot.
No pressure or anything, right? Even with all of the stakes that are present for the Falcons, Penix is getting his shot and it’s about time.