The plan was never supposed to circle back to this. But with Michael Penix Jr. now headed for season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn left ACL suffered in Sunday’s loss to Carolina, the Atlanta Falcons have no choice.
Atlanta’s 30-27 overtime loss to Carolina was a gut punch. A 21-7 halftime lead evaporated. Bryce Young threw for 448 yards. A fifth straight loss. And then came the injuries that pushed the season from bad to worse.
Penix Jr. left with a left knee injury that will land him on season-ending injured reserve, which raised raising fears about ACL damage to the knee opposite the one he twice tore in college. Moreover, Drake London exited the loss with a PCL issue and won't suit up this afternoon in the Big Easy.
Suddenly, in Week 12 against the Saints, they’re clinging to what’s left of a collapsing, turning back to Kirk Cousins, and toward a reality where Cousins and Raheem Morris may now be the only lifeline each has left.
Raheem Morris and Kirk Cousins need each other to save their jobs
At 3-7, the Dirty Birds will limp into New Orleans without their young quarterback, without their star receiver, and without their 2026 first-round pick. The veteran stepped in last week and struggled, finishing 6-of-14 for 48 yards with a 29.9 QBR, but struggling or not, he's Atlanta's only option.
Since the Falcons’ 6-3 start in 2024, the 49-year-old coach is 5-13 as Atlanta's head coach. And now, he’s on the hot seat where there might only be one man who can save him… Kirk Cousins. Despite benching him, Morris claims his confidence in Cousins hasn’t wavered.
“Kirk's been the guy that's been able to go out there and start a lot of games in the league,” Morris said. “He started a lot of games for us. He got us [off] to a nice start last year and now we've got an opportunity to sit back and watch and really grow and got to get him going this week, go out there and lead the football team.”
Quarterbacks don’t often become last resorts for the coaches who once benched them. But if Morris wants to return in 2026, he needs the 37-year-old to be the accelerator of whatever late-season push is remotely possible. And the thing is, Cousins needs Morris to succeed just as badly.
He’s likely to be released this offseason. He’s 37. The market will not be friendly to a quarterback coming off injuries, a benching, and limited tape. What matters now is how he looks the next seven weeks. For both Cousins and Morris, the only way to save their future is by saving each other’s.