Falcons have ‘everything’ to gain in launching career of Michael Penix this week

Generally, when an NFL head coach says after a game that “everything” is under evaluation, changes are coming. And following the Falcons’ malodorous 15-9 win at Las Vegas on Monday night, head coach Raheem Morris dropped the E word. Michael Penix could be on deck.

Kirk Cousins was 11 of 17 for 112 yards with an early touchdown pass to Drake London. Cousins also threw another interception as the Falcons (7-7) struggled to hand Las Vegas (2-12) its 10^th straight loss. Atlanta is 1-4 over its last five games and, during that stretch, Cousins has one touchdown pass and nine interceptions. Only Jameis Winston has as many interceptions in that period and the Browns benched him on Sunday.

“He’s got to play better and, obviously, you got to go back, you got to get to look at everything,” Morris said after the game. “But he wants to play better. He’s got to play better. We’ve got to find a way to get him to play better.”

The way to get him to play better is to start Penix. Atlanta’s season will go one of two directions from this point forward, starting with the Giants (2-12) on Sunday at home (1 p.m. ET, FOX).

• Cousins continues to start and continues to struggle. Atlanta struggles to beat the Giants, Commanders (9-5) and Panthers (3-11). Should the Falcons overtake the Buccaneers and enter the playoffs as a division champion, their confidence level could feel a lot like it does after surviving the Raiders.
• Penix launches his career against lower-tier opponents, injects a spark, creates an additional hurdle for defensive coordinators and opens an untapped dimension in a Falcons offense loaded with talent. And even if the Falcons miss out on the playoffs, the rookie would gain valuable experience and Atlanta would have a head start on an exciting 2025. Cousins would be supportive and available should something happen to Penix.

In 2018, the Ravens made a similar move in starting Lamar Jackson, albeit much earlier than Week 16. Jackson earned MVP honors the following season.

Atlanta stands one game behind first-place Tampa Bay (8-6) but the Falcons need only to tie the Buccaneers by virtue of a head-to-head sweep earlier this year.

For more information on the Falcons and Raiders, visit the Atlanta and Las Vegas team pages at ProFootballPost.com.