Michael Penix Jr doesn’t press Kirk Cousins’ panic button after Week 13 disaster

Despite Kirk Cousins’ mess-up in Week 13’s performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, Atlanta Falcons rookie backup Michael Penix Jr. didn’t have a word of negativity for him, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.

“He’s a vet,” Penix said of Cousins. “He’s been in a lot of different situations, so I have no doubt he’s going to bounce back and he’s going to be great this weekend and for the rest of the season.”

Cousins, who threw four interceptions in the 17-13 loss, was the difference in Atlanta’s disappointing result. The Falcons outscored the Chargers 350 to 187 and dominated time of possession, from 35:55 ​​to 24:05. They made 77 plays in total, compared to 46 in Los Angeles. In four trips to the red zone, the Falcons have scored just one touchdown.

Meanwhile, the Chargers failed to score a touchdown in their two visits to the red zone and were held to just 56 rushing yards.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris didn’t even consider the idea when asked about the Cousins ​​bench.

“That’s not going to be the issue here,” Morris said of a quarterback controversy. “This guy carried us. This guy got us to the point where we are 6-6 and in first place in the division. We have everything ahead of us despite what happened today. It’s up to us to bounce back and find a way to win football games. There’s no better man than (Cousins) to do that for us.

Hawks swirling before our eyes

After losing three games in a row, the Falcons need to look in the mirror. Cousins ​​did everything possible to lose this game for Atlanta. Although football is a team sport, Cousins ​​single-handedly lost this game.

In Mike Johrendt’s latest NFL Power Rankings, he kept the Falcons at 18th.

“It’s been a pretty worrying first season in Atlanta for Cousins, who threw four interceptions in the team’s loss to the Chargers to bring his total to nine this year. It was a pretty forgettable performance from Cousins ​​and the rest of the Falcons offense, which only mustered a Bijan Robinson TD and two Younghoe Koos on the field in their 17-13 loss.

Remember, Atlanta is the No. 4 seed in the NFC.

When speaking to the press, Cousins ​​denied playing through an injury in order to dispel speculation surrounding his poor play, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic.

“Kirk Cousins ​​says he feels ‘good’ physically,” Kendall wrote on his X account, formerly Twitter. “I’d like to tell you I’m fighting something, but I’m not,” he said.

“I have to look at myself and I know I have to play better. (I have to) look back and figure out how to make sure I never do that again.

The Falcons will travel to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14 on Sunday, December 18 at 1 p.m. EST.