Michael Penix Jr. had the worst game of his young NFL career on Sunday, which served as a reminder that the Atlanta Falcons still have the highest-paid backup quarterback in the league sitting on their bench. That does not mean a change is coming, however.
Penix went just 18/36 for 172 yards, no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in the Falcons’ 30-0 Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Both of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris was asked about the possibility of benching Penix in favor of Kirk Cousins. Morris had a very clear response: “Mike is our quarterback.”
“We’re not even close to that with Mike. He had a bad day. We had a bad day … Mike is our quarterback,” Morris told reporters. “We got a lot of confidence in Mike. We’re moving forward with Mike. Mike’s the guy.”
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on not even considering letting Kirk Cousins compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting quarterback role: "We're not even close to that with Mike. He had a bad day. We had a bad day."
— Terrin Waack (@TerrinWaack) September 24, 2025
Said: "Mike is our quarterback. We got a lot of…
Cousins was benched midway through last season for poor play. He finished the year with a career-worst 16 interceptions, which was the most in the NFL. Penix showed plenty of promise after taking over for Cousins, and there was no quarterback competition during the offseason. Morris says there is not going to be one now, either.
Penix struggled so much in Sunday’s game that he was ruthlessly mocked with the meme treatment on social media. That does not mean Morris and the Falcons should overreact to one bad game.
Atlanta believed in Penix enough to draft him 8th overall less than two months after signing Cousins to a $180 million contract, so things would have to get really bad for Penix to lose the job.
