Whether or not you were shocked, the Atlanta Falcons made the decision Tuesday night to announce Michael Penix Jr. will be the starting quarterback on Sunday when they host the New York Giants. The move comes a day after the Falcons defeated the Raiders 15-9 with what some would call a lackluster performance by Kirk Cousins, who threw his NFL leading 16th interception and finished the night with 112 passing yards.
On Wednesday, Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden discussed the Falcons’ benching of Cousins as Shapiro shared his thoughts on why he believes the performance of the veteran quarterback made the move a must for the Falcons. “If anyone has been around sports or really around human nature, or anybody that has been around a friend or colleague that has lost their mojo, has lost their confidence, was not exuding the notion of success, that was Kirk Cousins,” Shapiro said as he referenced the demeanor of Cousins following the last five games.
And while Cousins’ stat line tells some of the story in regard to Atlanta having to make the quarterback change, Shapiro explained why he believes the veteran quarterback did not display the physical ability to provide the Falcons’ offense what the needed from the position. “He doesn’t have it. He knows he physically could not do the things that he did before the Achilles,” Shapiro said, adding that he believes Cousins’ become too predictable for opposing defenses due to his lack of mobility.
“We have no creativity because our quarterback literally can’t move back there,” Shapiro said.