Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is already fighting to hold on to his starting job despite signing a four-year contract worth $180million this offseason.
The former Minnesota Viking, who is coming off a major Achilles injury, threw for just 155 yards and two interceptions in an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.
Cousins joined the Falcons in Free AgencyAP
Falcons bosses drafted Michael Penix Jr with the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft despite their expensive acquisition in a move that stunned fans and outsiders.
Cousins takes on the Philadelphia Eagles in a Monday Night Football showdown at Lincoln Financial Field with highly-regarded rookie Penix, 24, casting a large shadow.
talkSPORT discussed the Falcons’ Week 1 disaster and what it could mean for their quarterbacks on the first episode of our brand-new YouTube show NFL Rundown.
“The Atlanta Falcons look like they don’t know what they’re doing,” said talkSPORT.com writer Brian T. Smith.
“Trying to build a team where they went young with previous coach Arthur Smith. They had talent they drafted pretty well they invested in the team.
“You get Kirk Cousins who’s coming off a major injury with the Vikings, who has never done it before – 12 wins are nice but they don’t buy you anything in the NFL.
“Then you draft a quarterback whose got a great arm, who at some point is going to be an NFL starter.
“I talked to [NFL insider] Daniel Jeremiah during the offseason from NFL Network and he was saying, ‘You can look at all these guys but the the quarterback who might be the best talent long term is Michael Penix.’
“So what what are you doing if you’re the Falcons and, of course, Kirk Cousins didn’t look good, he’s old, he’s not 100%? When do you move on from him?
“They set this up every time he struggles, ‘When’s he going to get benched? When are we going to promote the the the rookie that we just drafted who’s going to eventually become our franchise quarterback?’
Awkward footage shows Falcons GM Terry Fontenot explaining why they selected Michael Penix Jr. to owner Arthur BlankX@_MLFootball
Penix Jr starred for Washington before being a surprise selection for the FalconsGetty
“So I won’t be shocked if he gets pulled after Week 2 or Week 3. There’s nothing about that shocking to me.”
New head coach Raheem Morris joined the Falcons this offseason and brought former Los Angeles Rams colleague Zac Robinson over with him as offensive coordinator.
Cousins’ lack of mobility forced Robinson to deploy him in the shotgun formation against the Steelers, which caused problems for the scheme.
“Raheem Morris comes in, takes over as head coach from the Rams, brings Zac Robinson with him,” explained NFL RunDown presenter Will Gavin.
“They’re looking to run that Sean McVay-Kyle Shanahan type system. They need a quarterback who can be on the move.
“We obviously know Kirk Cousins can run the Kyle Shanahan offense, he’s done it before, but if he cannot move in the pocket any more, if his Achilles is completely shot…
“They ran zero play action plays the entire game despite having Bijan Robinson, one of the best running backs in football, in the backfield
“So I would be massively concerned. I think that Michael Penix probably ends up starting games this season
“A lot of people talked about the fact he’s 24 years old, ‘That’s too old to be drafting him if you’re not going to start for two years.’
“Twenty-six isn’t that old guys. If he’s starting in two years’ time and he’s a top 15 NFL quarterback, I think they’re alright.”
The Eagles come into Monday’s matchup off the back of a 34-29 triumph over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
Their own major offseason signing, Saquon Barkley, scored three touchdowns and racked up 132 yards from scrimmage in a stellar debut.
The running back’s arrival could have unlocked the full potential of one of the NFL’s most formidable offenses.
Cousins missed most of last season with a torn AchillesAP
“He lit up,” NFL analyst Jason Bell exclusively told talkSPORT.
“I was thinking about him behind this offensive line and what it could be and it did not disappoint.
“He’s the kind of player that if he has just a little bit of a seam, he can break through and make a play explode and he did that.
“This team has so many weapons at the wide receiver position that if, as a defender, you’re trying to allocate your assets to take that away, well he’s going to have less numbers at the line of scrimmage to stop him in the running game and he’s going to take advantage of that.
“This offense will could be, and probably will be, one of the best offenses in the NFL because of that dynamic.
“He has changed everything for them. Everything in the NFL on offense is balance.
“When you can exploit the outside and people want to take away the big plays, you have to be able to run the ball in the middle through the tackles with power, and Saquon Barkley can do that.
“If you continue to run the ball with him, it just takes one defender to be out of his assignment and he is breaking through for a long run.”
Watch the first episode of our brand new show ‘Run Down’ on the talkSPORT dedicated NFL channel
