The Falcons were outclassed by the Broncos in every facet of the game, so much so that Atlanta went to Michael Penix Jr. with around nine minutes left to go in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta was already trailing by 32 points while Kirk Cousins struggled to get the offense going. The veteran only mustered 173 yards through the air, giving way to the rookie.
Once Penix entered the game, he completed 2-of-4 passes for 24 yards, including a 20-yard gain on a completion to Ray-Ray McCloud. The Falcons offense didn’t move the ball much with Penix, but he did display the physical talent that made Raheem Morris and the organization fall in love with him.
With Cousins struggling and Penix just seeing the field, it was always going to spark some wild takes, but I figured it would be from casual fans, not a former NFL quarterback.
Former Falcons signal caller Kurt Benkert, who has now made a name for himself as the “Former NFL quarterback turned Madden streamer with ridiculously hot takes” guy, thinks the club needs to play Michael Penix now “if they want to make a deep playoff run.”
If the Falcons want to make a deep playoff run, they need to play Penix the rest of the way and get the learning curve accelerated. https://t.co/9Wv7lqBn3n
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) November 17, 2024
I can’t wait for the Falcons to eventually turn to Michael Penix. He’s got stuff that can’t be taught. Despite Kirk Cousins carving out a 10+ year career in the NFL, he’ll never have the physical talent that Penix possesses.
With that being said, Penix is most likely a much worse quarterback than the veteran based on experience alone. Cousins has survived in this league for a long time, and being a rookie signal caller in the NFL has never been more difficult.
We can vent our frustrations with the Falcons without saying ridiculous stuff like this.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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