Kirk Cousins will return as the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons after Michael Penix Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury. The team, currently holding a 3-7 record, will face the New Orleans Saints (2-8) in Week 12 at Caesars Superdome.
Cousins expressed his concern for Penix, stating, “Obviously got a good opportunity against the Saints this week. But wanted to just acknowledge how tough the injury is for Michael. My heart breaks for him. He’s someone who has handled adversity so well through his football journey, and unfortunately, he’s having to do it again. But I’m very confident he has a lot of good football ahead of him. … And yeah, we’re just looking forward to getting to go against the Saints and trying to get back on track here and get things going in the right direction.”
Having entered the NFL in 2012, Cousins has played in 167 games and started 160 of them. He has thrown 288 touchdowns and 126 interceptions over his career and made four playoff appearances in thirteen seasons.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris explained why Cousins remained with the team even after being replaced by Penix earlier this season: “There’s 100% no doubt about that,” Morris said. “It was the whole purpose. I know there was a whole rush to move on and do all these other different things. But you’re talking about a great human, you’re talking about a guy you know can play.”
Cousins was initially brought in as a bridge starter before handing over to Penix, who was seen as the future of the franchise at the start of the 2024 season. In early games under Cousins’ leadership, Atlanta achieved a 6-3 record with Cousins completing nearly 70% of his passes for an average of almost 259 yards per game, recording 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
However, following an injury to Cousins’ right shoulder during Week 10 against New Orleans last season, Atlanta’s performance declined; they went on a six-game stretch where they won only once while Cousins threw nine interceptions compared to one touchdown.
Reflecting on his approach moving forward, Cousins shared advice he received from teammate D.J. Williams: “‘I think it’s important to make sure you’re having fun even if the game goes tough, even if it doesn’t go the way you want. You can still find joy in what you do on a daily basis… That’s something I’ve learned, is to just say, ‘Look, we’ve got to enjoy this… enjoy the challenge…'”
Currently third in their division with less than a one percent chance of making playoffs according to The New York Times’ playoff simulator (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/upshot/nfl-playoff-picture.html), Atlanta faces long odds for postseason play.
The transition back to Cousins is expected to be smooth since he is familiar with much of this offense; offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will continue calling plays from field level rather than from above—a change that began earlier this year.
“He’s handled everything the right way,” Robinson said regarding Cousins’ return as starter. “He wants to play. So, he’s getting an opportunity now.”
