ATLANTA (AP) – The Atlanta Falcons drafting of Michael Penix Jr. just six weeks after signing Kirk Cousins to a $180 million contract doesn’t seem like that much of a head-scratcher anymore.
Penix, the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft, was supposed to serve as Cousins’ understudy for a year or two, a plan that was scuttled when Cousins quickly lost the zip and accuracy on his passes and his grip on the starting job.
It was hard to argue with making the change after Cousins had nine picks and one touchdown pass in his last five starts — but it was a daring move nonetheless with the Falcons trailing first-place Tampa Bay by a single game with three weeks left.
Penix made the move pay off with a solid first NFL start in the Falcons’ 34-7 rout of the New York Giants on Sunday that bolstered Atlanta’s playoff hopes, and the Falcons (8-7) moved back into first place in the NFC South with the Buccaneers’ loss at Dallas on Sunday night.
The left-hander was not at all overwhelmed by the moment, completing 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards — numbers that would’ve been better if not for at least three dropped passes, one of which Kyle Pitts bobbled right into the hands of a New York defender for Penix’s lone interception.