Falcons' Raheem Morris addresses Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr. chatter

A Wednesday report indicated that Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris planned to give starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. "a long runway "after Morris benched Penix in favor of veteran backup Kirk Cousins during Atlanta's 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Morris attempted to silence chatter regarding a possible full-time quarterback change. 

Do Falcons still have confidence in Michael Penix Jr.?

"Mike's our quarterback and we have a lot of confidence in Mike," Morris said, per Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' website. "We're moving forward because Mike's the guy."

Cousins lost the Atlanta starting job in December 2024 after he played poorly over a five-game stretch, during which the Falcons went from 6-3 to 7-7. More recently, the 2025 Falcons lost two of three contests with Penix in the lineup. 

According to Pro Football Reference, Penix ranks 29th in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks with a 58.6 percent completion percentage and 28th with a 71.3 passer rating for the season. His last touchdown pass occurred in Week 1. 

How close are Falcons to playing Kirk Cousins over Michael Penix Jr.?

"We're not even close to that moment with Mike," Morris said about possibly turning back to Cousins. "Mike had a bad game (against Carolina). We had a bad day as a team. And it's easy for everybody to pile on the head coach, the coordinator, obviously, the quarterback. You're first in line for the wounds. He's just in line right now. He had a bad game, but he'll bounce back, and I have a lot of confidence he'll bounce back."

Such a vote of confidence on Sept. 24 may not mean much if the Falcons offense continues to disappoint with its performances. ESPN stats show that Atlanta ranks 31st in the league with an average of 14.0 points per game for the season. To compare, the Falcons ended Week 3 ranked second in yards allowed per contest (227.3).

"When you play as bad as we played last week, rightfully so," Morris said about those who have criticized the Atlanta offense since the loss to Carolina. "Throw those things. Throw those stones. There's no doubt. We were clearly predictable last week that we could not do anything, so rightful stone throwers. Throw away. I have no arguments. No fights. No nothing against that."

Shortly after Morris made his comments, ESPN BET had the Falcons as 1.5-point underdogs for this coming Sunday's home game against the 2-1 Washington Commanders. It remains to be seen if Morris will find himself rethinking his quarterback situation by the time that Week 4 matchup wraps up.