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Things were so bad for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 in a 30-0 blowout loss to the Carolina Panthers. In the fourth quarter, the Falcons benched Michael Penix Jr. and inserted veteran Kirk Cousins, although it didn’t make much of a difference.
Penix went 18-of-36 for 172 yards with a pair of interceptions and Cousins went 5-of-7 for 29 yards in his first action of the season. After the game, Falcons coach Raheem Morris made it clear that he was sticking with Penix going forward.
On Wednesday, he reiterated such a thought process via Falcons beat writer Terrin Waack.
“We’re not even close to that with Mike,” Morris said when asked about having Cousins compete for the QB1 job. “He had a bad day. We had a bad day. Mike is our quarterback. We got a lot of confidence in Mike. We’re moving forward with Mike. Mike’s the guy.”
So, once again, it seems that Penix is the team’s starter going forward. Still, his struggles have been evident, as the former Washington Huskies QB has thrown 605 yards with just one touchdown and two interceptions this season.
Why has Penix struggled? Well, ESPN insider Dan Graziano offered some reasoning for that.
“Sure, Penix is playing like a quarterback who has made only six starts in the NFL, but a couple of people I talked to Monday said they don’t think the team is doing enough to help him,” Graziano wrote. “There were a few instances Sunday — a 30-0 loss to Carolina — where plays seemingly took too long to come in. Receivers also dropped passes.”
Bijan Robinson is currently the team’s leading receiver with 164 yards, and 50 of those came on Penix’s only touchdown pass in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Furthermore, Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts are the only ones with double-digit receptions through three games, and the Falcons just fired WRs coach Ike Hilliard after the loss to the Panthers.
For now, Penix will be the starter, and Morris’ comments don’t make it sound like he will change his mind anytime soon.
The post Falcons’ Raheem Morris couldn’t be more clear he’s not benching Michael Penix Jr. for Kirk Cousins appeared first on ClutchPoints.
