On March 13, the Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins as the signature move of the NFL offseason.
Only 43 days later, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot provided one of the biggest shocks in recent draft history, selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick. Penix, 24, is one of the oldest quarterbacks taken in the first round, making it seemingly imperative he gets on the field somewhat soon.
On Monday night, Cousins showed why Penix might get comfortable on the bench for a while before eventually seeing real snaps.
Facing the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, Cousins and the Falcons trailed 21–15 with 1:39 remaining, no timeouts and 70 yards to go. After throwing for only 171 yards before the game-winning drive, Cousins accounted for every yard, capped by a seven-yard scoring strike to Drake London for a 22–21 win. Cousins is now 13–20 in prime-time games.
Before the defining march, Atlanta had just a single explosive passing play (20-plus yards) on the night and only two for the season. Cousins created two in succession on the drive, finding free-agent pickup Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards to put Atlanta in the red zone.
Now at 1–1 in thrilling fashion, both the Falcons and Cousins appear to have a new trajectory, one which appeared impossible before Eagles running back Saquon Barkley dropped a pass which would have clinched the outcome only minutes earlier.
At 36 years old, Cousins is coming off a torn Achilles sustained last October in Green Bay. The doubts surrounding his future were, and remain, real. In Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and throughout much of Monday, the zip on his passes wasn’t there, as he struggled to push off with his back leg lagging instead of anchoring.
Facing Pittsburgh, Atlanta managed only one touchdown and 226 total yards while never utilizing play-action passes. Cousins threw two interceptions and posted an EPA of 0.317, ranking 27th among Week 1 starters in the metric. The quarterbacks he beat out? Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, Will Levis, Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones.
Yet the reality and feel of the young season changed in the second half Monday. Over the final 30 minutes in Philadelphia, Atlanta had four possessions (excluding the final kneeling down) and scored three times, including two touchdowns.
For Cousins, it’s a starting point to proving he’s an answer in Atlanta. But in today’s world, that’s a question which will be asked on a weekly basis until proven beyond any doubt.
However, in six days, he’ll once again be in prime time facing the Kansas City Chiefs and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who lives to heat up quarterbacks with exotic blitzes. In the NFL, all glory is momentary without following up on it. If Cousins struggles, the noise which predated a most unlikely comeback in Philadelphia will resurface.
To that point, there are still legitimate concerns. Beyond the aforementioned unwillingness at times to drive off his back foot, Cousins is an aging quarterback who already had no ability to threaten outside of the pocket, rushing for a combined 122 yards on 45 attempts over the past two seasons. If he’s hindered in any way to produce from straight drop-backs, Cousins’s value plummets with little else to rely on.
While Penix had his own injury issues in college—including a clavicle fracture and twice tearing his right ACL—he brings athleticism and youth. Although Penix doesn’t run, only notching 265 rushing yards across six collegiate seasons, he has better movement skills and a rocket for a left arm. At Washington, Penix averaged 8.6 yards per attempt over his last two seasons, leading all of FBS in passing yardage both campaigns.
While Penix will sit until coach Raheem Morris believes he’s the best chance for Atlanta to win, it’s hard to think that moment is far off if Cousins isn’t superb. Perhaps it’ll be sometime this year, maybe it’ll be in 2025, but with Penix’s age already advanced for a rookie and Cousins struggling to generate chunk yardage, the conversation will consistently swirl.
For now, though, Cousins staved off any serious talk about his job security. The Falcons handed him the largest contract in franchise history only six months ago. Owner Arthur Blank wouldn’t happily sign off on a quick hook, especially when Cousins should be given the grace to work back from one of the most challenging injuries an athlete can sustain.
Now with a scintillating, prime-time win under his belt, Cousins can breathe easier while Blank and Fontenot don’t have to think about whether the deal doled out to their new quarterback was an extremely costly error.
If Cousins hadn’t started driving the offense rather than caretaking for it, the groans in Atlanta—and the calls for Penix—would have only grown louder and tougher to ignore.
But after a prime-time game in which he delivered the defining moment, Cousins can enjoy his victory while knowing his seat is yet to heat up.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as With Prime-Time Win, Kirk Cousins Proves Himself As Falcons' Best QB Option.
