The Kirk Cousins era in Atlanta encountered a pause -- and perhaps a conclusion -- this week when head coach Raheem Morris made the decision to bench the veteran for rookie Michael Penix Jr.
With their playoff hopes very much on the line, the Falcons (7-7) felt they needed to make the move. Cousins hadn't played anywhere near the standard he'd set in Minnesota, or even earlier this season in Atlanta, posting a 1-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio over his last five starts. Atlanta lost all but one of those games, and perhaps would've dropped all five had they not faced the lowly Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15.
As the professional he is, Cousins accepted the decision Wednesday while acknowledging he hadn't performed well enough to keep the job.
"It's pro football. There's a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me," Cousins told reporters. "Unfortunately, I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough. It is what it is. You roll with it. Now, you still get ready, one play away kind of a thing, and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs. That's what it's all about. That's my focus."
After signing a highly publicized four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons in March, Cousins had a few moments of excellence in his first season with his new team. He threw for 785 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception in two wins over their NFC South rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sweeping the strongest contender in the battle for the division. Atlanta raced out to a 6-3 start in its first season under Morris, but Cousins' struggles precipitated a rather drastic downturn in November when the Falcons lost four straight between Weeks 10 and 14.
That was the stretch in which Cousins threw eight interceptions and zero touchdowns, single-handedly ruining scoring opportunities on a weekly basis. His decision-making regressed dramatically, with Cousins frequently attempting to fire passes into risky windows only to see the worst possible outcome. If one needs an explanation for his fall from grace, look no further than that losing streak.
"I would agree. It probably ultimately was the turnovers," Cousins said, echoing Morris' earlier explanation for the move to Penix. "That's such a key thing in winning and losing in the NFL."
A passerby might wonder why the Falcons are benching their quarterback after a win, but their ugly 15-9 victory was arguably Cousins' worst showing. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and could have turned it over a couple of more times. Given one last chance to convert on third-and-long in a suddenly tight game, Cousins nearly threw a pick, failing to convert and giving the ball back to the Raiders with 1:50 left in a one-score contest.
Cousins was ineffective, and if not for a strong game from second-year running back Bijan Robinson (22 carries, 125 yards), the Falcons could have ended up on the losing end. They can't afford such a risk with their postseason hopes hanging in the balance, turning to the rookie whose draft selection at No. 8 overall created its own offseason firestorm during the spring.
"I brought Kirk in here with full expectation that we could win a championship with Kirk and we'd be able to compete with Kirk," Morris explained on Wednesday. "For whatever reason, whatever happened the last couple of weeks, it just hasn't felt that way. It was time to make a change.
"Any time you take a step down or a demotion at work, it's not going to be met with great appreciation and all those things. But Kirk was a professional, he's a pro, he's a man, he's a great human, he's a great father, he's a great football player, he's done a lot of great things for us this year. He handled it with class. He's an absolute professional. … But obviously it comes with some disappointment when you lose your job."
To his credit, Cousins drew appreciation from Morris, who admitted "we've got to play better at the position ... and that's why we made the decision to do that last night."
Cousins even called Penix to talk about the change Tuesday night, telling reporters, "I like to shoot elephants in the room."
There's no telling exactly what this means for Cousins' future in Atlanta. A number of different roster scenarios could see the Falcons part with him, incurring a range of cap penalties over the short and/or long term. They could also keep him as a high-priced backup while Penix -- who was considered by many to be the most pro-ready quarterback of the 2024 draft class -- mans the starting job, though such a decision seems unlikely.
Atlanta will attempt to sort that out later while using the evidence it's about to start collecting in the Falcons' final three games of the 2024 regular season. Should Penix succeed, Atlanta could end up in the playoffs and have its answer for the future. That certainly isn't guaranteed at this juncture, though.
What matters most is the immediate results. After a season spent watching Cousins from the sideline, Morris believes Penix will produce.
"We had been searching," Morris said when asked why he made the change now. "We had been digging as much as we can dig in order to make things work and try to get things going. Just last night came to the point, just wanted to make the decision to make the move. We wanted to play a little better at quarterback, and we felt like we got a chance to play a little bit better. If we can go out there and play better at quarterback, who knows what could happen, you know?
"I don't think anything is ever permanent in the National Football League, but right now Michael Penix is our quarterback, and we're gonna back him and give him the utmost support he needs as we did Kirk when he was our starter."
If Penix makes good on his coach's confidence in him, it will kick off an era most didn't see coming for at least a year or two. It will also give those who supported the selection of Penix a massive win over the scores of folks who chastised the Falcons for taking the Washington product less than two months after handing Cousins a $180 million contract.
Cousins, meanwhile, will be left to pick up the pieces -- and the dollars paid to him by the Falcons -- while finding a new place to play football. As he said Wednesday, yes, he didn't play well enough to keep his job. That doesn't mean his career is finished, though.
"I didn't forget how to play quarterback," Cousins said. "Certainly, the turnovers were not what you want, but I didn't forget how to play."
