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The Atlanta Falcons have a quarterback problem with second-year starter Michael Penix Jr.
After a promising Berlin start against the Indianapolis Colts in the first half on Sunday, Penix struggled mightily in the second half. He only competed five of his 18 passes for 78 yards in a game where the Falcons led for much of regulation. Penix's disastrous second half helped doom Atlanta to yet another agonizingly close loss.
Penix's 2025 season has been maddeningly inconsistent, with a rough 58.8 completion percentage through eight games. Penix's arm talent is undeniable, but the Falcons offense has struggled to score points and convert third downs with the former Washington quarterback leading the charge. His spotty accuracy is a hindrance to success.
Only 11 games into his career as a starter, have the Falcons seen enough to justify benching Penix and rolling with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins for the rest of the season? Has the Penix experiment run its course in Atlanta?
A few problems loom for that scenario. First, Cousins struggled mightily against the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 while Penix was sidelined with a knee injury. Cousins got benched last season for Penix late in the process because of his lackluster play, and he didn't prove himself to be worthy of starting reps against Miami. The offense sputtered.
Second, the Falcons have a coaching staff and front office officially on the hot seat after an abysmal 3-6 start. The team's commanding victory over the Buffalo Bills in October gave way to four straight losses. Any momentum from that Monday Night Football win has evaporated. Atlanta is poised to miss the playoffs for an eighth straight season.
Coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot chose to draft Penix with the eighth overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft after signing Cousins to his blockbuster contract. So far, neither move has panned out. It's very possible right now that neither move will pan out as Penix struggles, even regresses from his 2024 play, in his first full season as a starter. Even so, Morris and Fontenot's fates are tied to Penix's performance in particular, even if offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has also underwhelmed in his play-calling duties. If Penix continues his up-and-down play, it's very realistic to imagine a full regime change in Atlanta in the 2026 offseason.
Benching Penix would essentially confirm Morris and Fontenot failed to address the quarterback position and put their jobs in real jeopardy. This regime needs Penix to play better to give Falcons owner Arthur Blank the confidence to retain one or both of them for the 2026 season. If Penix is a lost cause, Morris and Fontenot will lose their jobs.
Third, the Falcons do not have their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team traded it to the Los Angeles Rams in order to trade up for outside linebacker James Pearce Jr. this past April. Not having their first rounder basically makes it impossible to draft another quarterback next spring unless the team wants to do so in the second or third rounds. With the low success rate of finding franchise quarterbacks that late and this upcoming group of quarterbacks already looking a bit thin for starting talent, the Falcons probably won't look to next year's draft class.
Fourth, the free agent class of veteran quarterbacks in 2026 looks weak. The team doesn't have the ammo to trade for a veteran like Arizona Cardinal Kyler Murray, and Daniel Jones seems locked to return to the Colts. After that, the best veteran options are Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance and Malik Willis.
Unless Lance and/or Willis are the next young quarterbacks to thrive elsewhere after spending some time on the bench, none of those guys necessarily offer you a meaningful upgrade to Penix in the long haul. A bridge year with Flacco or Wilson seems pointless. The Falcons absolutely must bring in competition for Penix in 2026, but finding a good replacement just feels like an impossible task with the team's limited resources. Atlanta just doesn't have a lot of viable paths right now to fielding any other quarterback in 2026 but Penix for the time being.
Penix can get better. We've seen plenty of young quarterbacks over the years struggle with their first teams and eventually blossom into franchise pillars at other stops. It's very possible Penix will find his footing one day, even if it's not with the Falcons. Perhaps it will happen with Atlanta! Who's to say. However as of now, he's not performing to the level of a quality NFL starter. He's one of Atlanta's biggest weaknesses in a sea of them. He's playing poorly.
However, benching Penix won't fix Atlanta's problems, even if the fool's gold of turning back to Cousins after his Dolphins debacle still may glimmer for a desperate team watching its 2025 season crash and burn. Keeping Penix on the field and just hoping with all your heart he eventually figures it out is the best option for Atlanta right now. Even so, Penix's uneven body of work doesn't suggest right now that he's Matt Ryan's proper Falcons successor. Perhaps he'll get there eventually... Atlanta desperately needs him to, or the quarterback carousel won't stop.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Michael Penix Jr. is the future of the Falcons, like it or not
Continue reading...
After a promising Berlin start against the Indianapolis Colts in the first half on Sunday, Penix struggled mightily in the second half. He only competed five of his 18 passes for 78 yards in a game where the Falcons led for much of regulation. Penix's disastrous second half helped doom Atlanta to yet another agonizingly close loss.
Penix's 2025 season has been maddeningly inconsistent, with a rough 58.8 completion percentage through eight games. Penix's arm talent is undeniable, but the Falcons offense has struggled to score points and convert third downs with the former Washington quarterback leading the charge. His spotty accuracy is a hindrance to success.
Only 11 games into his career as a starter, have the Falcons seen enough to justify benching Penix and rolling with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins for the rest of the season? Has the Penix experiment run its course in Atlanta?
A few problems loom for that scenario. First, Cousins struggled mightily against the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 while Penix was sidelined with a knee injury. Cousins got benched last season for Penix late in the process because of his lackluster play, and he didn't prove himself to be worthy of starting reps against Miami. The offense sputtered.
Second, the Falcons have a coaching staff and front office officially on the hot seat after an abysmal 3-6 start. The team's commanding victory over the Buffalo Bills in October gave way to four straight losses. Any momentum from that Monday Night Football win has evaporated. Atlanta is poised to miss the playoffs for an eighth straight season.
Coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot chose to draft Penix with the eighth overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft after signing Cousins to his blockbuster contract. So far, neither move has panned out. It's very possible right now that neither move will pan out as Penix struggles, even regresses from his 2024 play, in his first full season as a starter. Even so, Morris and Fontenot's fates are tied to Penix's performance in particular, even if offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has also underwhelmed in his play-calling duties. If Penix continues his up-and-down play, it's very realistic to imagine a full regime change in Atlanta in the 2026 offseason.
Benching Penix would essentially confirm Morris and Fontenot failed to address the quarterback position and put their jobs in real jeopardy. This regime needs Penix to play better to give Falcons owner Arthur Blank the confidence to retain one or both of them for the 2026 season. If Penix is a lost cause, Morris and Fontenot will lose their jobs.
Third, the Falcons do not have their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team traded it to the Los Angeles Rams in order to trade up for outside linebacker James Pearce Jr. this past April. Not having their first rounder basically makes it impossible to draft another quarterback next spring unless the team wants to do so in the second or third rounds. With the low success rate of finding franchise quarterbacks that late and this upcoming group of quarterbacks already looking a bit thin for starting talent, the Falcons probably won't look to next year's draft class.
Fourth, the free agent class of veteran quarterbacks in 2026 looks weak. The team doesn't have the ammo to trade for a veteran like Arizona Cardinal Kyler Murray, and Daniel Jones seems locked to return to the Colts. After that, the best veteran options are Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance and Malik Willis.
Unless Lance and/or Willis are the next young quarterbacks to thrive elsewhere after spending some time on the bench, none of those guys necessarily offer you a meaningful upgrade to Penix in the long haul. A bridge year with Flacco or Wilson seems pointless. The Falcons absolutely must bring in competition for Penix in 2026, but finding a good replacement just feels like an impossible task with the team's limited resources. Atlanta just doesn't have a lot of viable paths right now to fielding any other quarterback in 2026 but Penix for the time being.
Penix can get better. We've seen plenty of young quarterbacks over the years struggle with their first teams and eventually blossom into franchise pillars at other stops. It's very possible Penix will find his footing one day, even if it's not with the Falcons. Perhaps it will happen with Atlanta! Who's to say. However as of now, he's not performing to the level of a quality NFL starter. He's one of Atlanta's biggest weaknesses in a sea of them. He's playing poorly.
However, benching Penix won't fix Atlanta's problems, even if the fool's gold of turning back to Cousins after his Dolphins debacle still may glimmer for a desperate team watching its 2025 season crash and burn. Keeping Penix on the field and just hoping with all your heart he eventually figures it out is the best option for Atlanta right now. Even so, Penix's uneven body of work doesn't suggest right now that he's Matt Ryan's proper Falcons successor. Perhaps he'll get there eventually... Atlanta desperately needs him to, or the quarterback carousel won't stop.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Michael Penix Jr. is the future of the Falcons, like it or not
Continue reading...
