Could Falcons follow in Baltimore footsteps, bench Kirk Cousins?

Lost in last week’s NFL newscycle while the Falcons were on their bye was a bold suggestion from Kurt Benkert. The former quarterback said Atlanta’s 38-6 loss at Denver in Week 11 was the weight that tipped the scales from Kirk Cousins to rookie Michael Penix.

“If the Falcons want to make a deep playoff run,” Benkert tweeted last week, “they need to play Penix the rest of the way and get the learning curve accelerated.”

It’s a move not entirely unprecedented in recent history. Just six years ago, the Ravens started a rookie named Lamar Jackson in place of an injured Joe Flacco. After Jackson provided a much-needed spark to a 4-5 team and won three straight, the Ravens stuck with Jackson even after trainers cleared Flacco to return. Then, they rode Jackson all the way to the first round of the playoffs. A year later, after Baltimore changed its offensive scheme and scouting philosophies to build around Jackson, he won his first of two MVPs.

But Cousins isn’t injured. The Falcons (6-5) maintain he’s fully recovered from the ruptured Achilles’ tendon that ended his 2023 season. And he hasn’t played that poorly – he’s actually won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice. Plus, while the Buccaneers (5-6) are hot on their tails, the Falcons are in first place having won both of their 2024 head-to-head meetings with Tampa Bay.

Even if the Falcons were to make that bold move, this week likely isn’t the best timing. Their opponents, the Chargers (7-4), have the only two current NFL coaches who’ve invested significant time in the last 12 months preparing for a Penix-led offense. Jim Harbaugh and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter won the College Football Playoff National Championship in January, leading Michigan over Penix and the Washington Huskies.

However, when the Chargers come to town on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS), don’t rule out at least a Penix sighting. The Steelers have worked Justin Fields packages into their last two games. Dallas has occasionally used Trey Lance for a change of pace.

At some point, though, the Falcons need to answer the Penix question, whether he starts in three weeks or three years. After signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in March, they drafted Penix eighth overall in the first round of the draft.

For more information on the Falcons and Chargers, visit the Atlanta and L.A. Chargers team pages at ProFootballPost.com.