Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. era may begin sooner than we thought after Kirk Cousins’ latest stinker

Oh come on, Falcons.

Despite getting a rare great performance from one of the worst defenses in the league, Atlanta blew it in a way that will have head coach Raheem Morris and the rest of his staff defending the team’s $180 million quarterback investment for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to the selection of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in April’s draft, incumbent starter Kirk Cousins will always be sitting on the hot seat. That heat cranked the hell up after an abysmal showing against the Chargers where Cousins’ play directly led to the Falcons losing 17-13.

Cousins was brought in to stabilize this offense after a couple years of horrid quarterback play, but it appears his limitations are becoming too much for the Falcons to overcome, putting them at a crossroads with their QB situation.

The Falcons had plenty of opportunities to beat the Chargers, who had only one offensive touchdown, were held to 187 yards of offense for the entire game and had their second-worst output in terms of yards per play (4.1) and expected points added per drive (-1.34) this season. This was the best performance of the season by the Falcons’ defense, and Atlanta still squandered this opportunity. If the Falcons are going to lose games in which they performed like this defensively, something has gone horrendously wrong on the other side of the ball — this time, blame falling squarely on the quarterback.

Cousins threw four equally terrible interceptions throughout the course of the game. There was a pick 6, a weak lofted ball when the Falcons were in position to score and an inaccurate throw to end the game. Just miserable, awful football that crushed any attempt to win.

After the game, Morris defended Cousins and his play, saying that he’s gotten the Falcons to this point where they have a chance to win the division. Part of that is true — Cousins’ play in October helped the Falcons leap out to an early lead in the NFC South. He has undoubtedly been better than the combination of Desmond Ridder, Marcus Mariota and Taylor Heinecke over the past two years that led the Falcons sprinting to Cousins in free agency for help.

However, he has a much lower ceiling for his play coming off of the Achilles tear that he suffered last year and it’s turned the Falcons’ offense into a unit that is increasingly easier to defend. Atlanta runs play-action at one of the lowest rates in the league because of Cousins’ immobility, and end up in a lot of situations where the Falcons run a stagnant passing game that doesn’t leave the defense guessing whatsoever. They have one of the best rushing attacks in the league led by Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, but they can’t maximize everything they bring to the table because they’re boxed in by Cousins’ limitations. In a game where the Falcons were never down by more than a possession, it’s baffling that they can’t reach into a bag of tricks and press some easy buttons that aren’t lining Drake London up in the slot for a quick slant.

This is where things are getting hairy for the Falcons. ESPN reported that Cousins’ future with the team is in doubt — which was prior to Cousins totally stinking it up against the Chargers. Penix is the team’s plan for the future and the Falcons will expedite that process if Cousins tanks the end of the season. If they end up blowing their shot at the playoffs, it’s not off the table that Penix will play meaningful snaps in games this season.

Of course, the fact that this is even on the table would suggest that this experience is trending down toward being a failure. If the Falcons cut Cousins after the season, they’ll have to deal with a $65 million salary-cap hit, according to Spotrac, making building a quality team around Penix much more difficult than it already inherently will be.

This is a rough spot for the Falcons to find themselves in, but it’s glaring that Cousins is actively holding the offense back from its full potential.

Could a rookie quarterback do better? Probably not, realistically. Still, the Falcons are facing a future where the Penix era starts quicker than many anticipated.