Falcons' Morris won't commit to Cousins starting vs. Giants
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris wouldn't commit to Kirk Cousins being the starting quarterback Sunday against the New York Giants.
"We just got back. We still have to go through that process," Morris said Tuesday, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic. "All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn't play well enough at the quarterback position."
Cousins struggled again Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders, completing just 11 passes for 117 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Out of 32 quarterbacks who've taken at least 100 snaps since Week 10, Cousins ranks 30th in EPA/play and 27th in completion percentage, per Ben Baldwin's database. He's gone 1-4 during that stretch, throwing just one touchdown to nine interceptions in those games.
"When you go through the stretch that we're going through right now, you're not going to have that same confidence and the same swagger he had in the first two months or three months ... of the season," Morris added Tuesday, according to team reporter Terrin Waack.
Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year, $180-million contract this offseason. The Falcons then selected Michael Penix eighth overall in the 2024 draft weeks later.
The 24-year-old Penix shined in his final two years at Washington, throwing for 9,544 yards with 67 touchdowns, and led the Huskies to the College Football Playoff National Championship game in 2023.
Atlanta is 7-7 and one game back of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the top spot in the NFC South with three games remaining.