ESPN's Mina Kimes willing to launch barrage of criticism if Falcons refuse to ditch Kirk Cousins for Michael Penix Jr.
The Atlanta Falcons were on a roll there for a bit and early on, it looked like they were the real deal under head coach Raheem Morris after making the decision to fire Arthur Smith in the offseason. Three straight losses heading into Week 14 paints a drastically different picture of the nascent Kirk Cousins era.
In Week 13, the Falcons went up agains the Los Angeles Chargers and while they have Justin Herbert under center, defense has been Jim Harbaugh's calling card this year what with them being short-handed on offense. In any case, for some inexplicable reason, Cousins decided to give the Chargers defense a helping hand on Sunday after throwing four picks, effectively handing the game to LA.
Despite having the talents of Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Darnell Mooney, the Falcons failed to make the most of the opportunity to take control of the NFC South. While there were questions surrounding Morris possibly benching Cousins given the fact they have first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. on the bench, there have been no indications that the Falcons will choose to sit their marquee free agency signing.
ESPN's Mina Kimes had a thing or two to say about the Falcons' QB decisions. On the NFL Live show, Kimes said:
"Watching Kirk, I felt like his physical limitations are holding this offense back. It just doesn’t look right. They drafted Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall. I criticized the decision and I will criticize it even more if they don’t give Penix a shot this season if this continues."
Falcons face crucial Kirk Cousins-Michael Penix Jr. decision in December
As things stand, the Falcons still have a decent shot at making the playoffs, though if Cousins continues to play the way he has been playing, their ceiling in January could be very low.
Kimes' pitch was that head coach Raheem Morris should test Penix Jr. out to see what they have given Cousins hasn't exactly brought them too far despite the franchise handing him a four-year, $180 million contract.
In an appearance on the Scoop City podcast earlier this year, former Tennessee Titans signal caller Ryan Tannehill also admitted he was shocked to see the franchise picking Penix Jr. after recruiting Cousins to town.
“I was definitely shocked to see that. Kirk was coming off that big deal in the offseason and then drafting a quarterback in the first round. As a quarterback you wanna see weapons or just a really talented guy added to a position that can hopefully contribute immediately," Tannehill said.
The Falcons had the option of Rome Odunze, Brock Bowers, or even Brian Thomas Jr. to bring in immediate help for Cousins but instead chose to draft Penix Jr. out of Washington.