The scoreboard said 30-0, and the hot takes practically wrote themselves. In the wake of Atlanta’s blowout loss to Carolina, Michael Penix Jr. instantly became the lightning rod for every Falcons frustration from the turnovers to the stalled offense.
Penix threw two interceptions, including a sloppy pick six, and Atlanta’s offense never found its footing. But while Penix deserves his share of the blame for Sunday’s debacle, the idea that he should immediately lose his job to Kirk Cousins is shortsighted at best.
It’s not like Cousins is some savior waiting in the wings. The 37-year-old had 16 interceptions in 14 starts during his expensive 2024 debut in Atlanta. And despite there being plenty of quarterback-needy teams, none were willing to pry him from the Falcons’ bench.
Replacing Michael Penix with Kirk Cousins is a grave mistake
Could Cousins steady things in the short term? Maybe. But for how long? A week? A month? And at what cost, delaying the evaluation of whether Penix can actually be the franchise quarterback? That’s the real risk in turning back to the veteran too soon.
Six career starts. That’s where Penix is right now. He’s not a finished product, nor should anyone expect him to be.
For context: Josh Allen’s passer rating through his first six games was 61.8. Jalen Hurts was benched at halftime of his third start. Even Peyton Manning threw 11 interceptions in his first three weeks as a rookie.
Penix’s struggles against Carolina were glaring, but they’re not evidence that he can’t play. They’re evidence that he’s still developing. That’s the uncomfortable truth with rookie quarterbacks: you don’t get to fast forward the growing pains.
In Week 1, Penix marched Atlanta on an 18 play go ahead drive against Tampa Bay. In Week 2, he picked apart Brian Flores’ Vikings defense on the road in prime time. The flashes are there.
And while fans are recycling stats like “0-4 when the opponent scores more than seven points,” those numbers ignore context: three of those games were decided by one score, and two went to overtime. Penix didn’t shrink in those moments, his defense did.
The Falcons built this offense around young cornerstones like Bijan Robinson and Drake London with the idea that they’d grow together. Penix is part of that blueprint. To give up after one nightmare performance is to abandon the very plan the front office sold when they drafted him No. 8 overall.
Fans have every right to be frustrated with Sunday’s no-show in Charlotte. It was ugly—there's no sugarcoating it. But turning to Cousins isn’t a solution.
Patience may not be fun, but it’s the only way to find out if Penix is more than just a QB with promise. And until the Falcons know that for sure, he deserves the respect of time.