The Falcons don’t need to second-guess themselves just because Kirk Cousins is cooking in Las Vegas.
Yes, the numbers are loud. Through eight games, Cousins is third in the NFL in passing yards with 2,124 and second in passing touchdowns with 19.
He looked sharp again in the Raiders’ late comeback win over the New York Jets, going 19 of 27 for 247 yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing score. The 38-year-old was dropping dimes all game long, and after Michael Penix Jr.’s rough Week 8 outing against the Buccaneers, the comparison practically writes itself.
But that doesn’t mean Atlanta made the wrong call.
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal during the 2024 offseason expecting franchise quarterback production after years of instability. Instead, they drafted Penix just six weeks later, and the whole thing quickly started to look like one of the worst contracts in NFL history. Cousins ended up spending only two seasons in Atlanta and was replaced as the starter near the end of his first season.
Even so, the Falcons’ decision to move on was about the structure of the deal as much as the play on the field. They were staring at $57.5 million on the books for 2026 and 2027, and they used the out in his contract to get out with no penalty. If they had kept him, there was a $67.2 million guarantee in the 2027 offseason that would have forced their hand anyway.
That’s why the current revisionist history misses the point. Atlanta was never going to choose Cousins over Penix this offseason. A veteran who would have tied up the team’s financial flexibility was never going to win out over a former top-10 pick with plenty of room left in his development.
Penix’s Week 8 performance was ugly. He threw four interceptions in the 16-0 shutout loss to Tampa Bay, and it was a disastrous showing.
But even that kind of game doesn’t erase the bigger picture. It was also the kind of strange matchup where the Falcons had no real answer for the weather, and the Bucs ran the football 56 times.
Tommy Rees dialing up half as many runs isn’t on his quarterback.
And there’s another wrinkle that matters here: before the Jets game, people were already calling for the Raiders to bench Cousins in favor of No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. One game can’t be the whole argument.
The truth is simpler than the reaction suggests. Cousins is thriving in a new spot with Klint Kubiak.
Penix has finally looked like a franchise quarterback this year. And even after that brutal Sunday in Tampa, Atlanta was right to give the younger quarterback a chance with a new staff coming in.
In Other News...
Falcons Loss Raised A Bigger Concern Than Just The Weather
The rain in Tampa made for an ugly afternoon, but the conditions only explained part of what went wrong for the Falcons. Atlanta lost to the Buccaneers in a game where the passing game never found footing, and Michael Penix Jr. struggled badly as the offense sputtered through a storm-soaked script.
The deeper concern was how thoroughly the Falcons were beaten at the line of scrimmage. Tampa Bay barely needed to throw, yet still controlled the game on the ground, piling up 324 rushing yards while Atlanta managed less than 100 of its own. For a team trying to establish a more balanced identity, that kind of gap is harder to dismiss than the weather. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Suddenly Have A Tua Tagovailoa Decision Fans Didnt Expect
The Falcons are already dealing with the fallout of a significant loss, and the quarterback conversation has taken on an unexpected edge with Michael Penix Jr. now in the starting role. From Atlantas perspective, that naturally shifts the focus to how the rest of the roster is managed, especially when a name like Tua Tagovailoa enters the discussion in trade speculation.
What makes the idea even more interesting is the team on the other side of it, with Baltimore suddenly searching for help under center. The Ravens quarterback situation has been thinned by injuries, which is why a potential move involving Tagovailoa has started to surface as a possibility, even if it remains only a speculative one for now. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Trade Deadline Could Define Michael Penix Jrs Supporting Cast
With the Falcons sitting at 3-5 and just half a game out of the NFC South lead, the front office is staring at the trade deadline with a clear need in mind: help for the wide receiver room. The idea is straightforward enough. If Atlanta wants to give Michael Penix Jr. a better chance to operate with more margin for error down the stretch, adding another dependable target would be one way to do it.
A few names have already surfaced in league chatter, including Jerry Jeudy, Brian Thomas Jr. and Keon Coleman, which tells you the Falcons are at least doing the homework on a range of possibilities. The challenge is that interest and availability are two very different things at this time of year, and Atlanta may have to weigh how aggressive it wants to be if it decides this is the moment to reshape the supporting cast around its young quarterback. [Read more 🡒]