Falcons turn to Penix at QB as they try to keep NFC South title hopes alive

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta is a contender in the weak NFC South despite another shaky performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins that led the Falcons to bench him in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr.

An ugly 15-9 win at the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night moved the Falcons to 7-7, one game behind Tampa Bay in the division.

The Falcons hold the tiebreaker advantage with the Buccaneers, leading coach Raheem Morris to say after the game: “That's where you want to be.”

Cousins passed for only 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception against the Raiders. He offered a somber review of his outing when he said, “It's not where I want to be.”

On Tuesday night, Morris announced that Penix will start Sunday's home game against the New York Giants.

“This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game," Morris said in a statement.

Cousins entered the Las Vegas game with no touchdown passes and eight interceptions in his previous four games. He ended his touchdown drought with a 30-yard scoring pass to Drake London in the first quarter but couldn't build off that highlight and added his league-leading 16th interception.

The Raiders (2-12) are tied for the league's worst record with the Giants, who will bring a nine-game losing streak to Atlanta. The Falcons then play at Washington (9-5) before closing their season at home against Carolina (3-11).

Morris said last week he doesn’t want to rush Penix, who has appeared in only two games and did not play against Las Vegas.

Morris added that sticking with Cousins through 14 games “has nothing to do with non-belief” in Penix.

“But he is a rookie and we do have a plan and we have had a plan from the beginning on how we want to utilize and be able to play our rookie when it’s time.”

Morris also said other coaches have “pulled the trigger and put guys out there too early and it’s gone terrible, right? And I don’t want to be that guy.”

Cousins, 36, signed a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason before Penix was selected No. 8 overall in the NFL draft. Morris says the Falcons have never wavered from their belief that Penix is their future starter.

That future begins now.

What’s working

Thanks to Bijan Robinson's career-high 125 rushing yards, Atlanta outrushed Las Vegas 168 yards to 65.

Once the Falcons took the first-quarter lead on Cousins' only touchdown pass, Atlanta leaned heavily on its running game. Robinson had 22 of the Falcons' 37 carries. Tyler Allgeier added 12 carries for 43 yards. Atlanta averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Robinson has 1,102 rushing yards, his first season over 1,000. He has topped 100 yards in three of the past five games. He has 20 or more carries in four of the past five games after reaching that total in only one of the first nine games.

What needs help

The Falcons' reluctance to pass allowed the Raiders to stack the defensive front and pressure Cousins on obvious passing situations. The limited passing game removed play-action passes from Atlanta's game plan.

There were few opportunities for wide receivers. Darnell Mooney had no catches on one target. London's three catches came on his only three targets. Ray-Ray McCloud had one catch on three targets.

Stock up

With three games remaining, linebacker Kaden Elliss has a career-high 124 tackles after leading Atlanta with 11 stops against the Raiders. It was the fourth consecutive game and eighth overall this season Elliss has led the Falcons in tackles.

Elliss had his fourth sack of the season. The Falcons' late-season pass-rush surge continued with four sacks, including outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone's first two of the season. Atlanta has had at least four sacks in three straight games.

Stock down

Cousins appeared to be late on some throws, perhaps an indication that his problems with interceptions have hurt his confidence.

Despite Morris' continued statements of confidence in Cousins, the play-calling tells another story.

Perhaps most telling was that Cousins was given few opportunities to pass. He completed only 11 of 17 passes as the Falcons kept the ball on the ground.

Injuries

After placing LB Troy Andersen on IR before the game with a left knee injury, the Falcons had LB Nate Landman leave with a neck injury before returning in the third quarter.

Key number

4 — Punter Bradley Pinion helped Atlanta dominate the field-position battle. Pinion had four punts downed inside the 10, including two inside the 5.

Next steps

Playing the skidding Giants could be a nice introduction for Penix.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Charles Odum, The Associated Press