Michael Penix Jr. is the Atlanta Falcons’ new starting quarterback and Kirk Cousins ​​is moving to the bench, coach Raheem Morris announced Tuesday night.

“After review, we have made the decision that Michael Penix will be the starting quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons moving forward,” Morris said in a statement released by the team. “This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.”

The Falcons defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 15-9 on Monday night, ending their four-game losing streak. But Cousins ​​was just 11 of 17 passing for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In his last five games, he had nine interceptions and just one touchdown pass.

Cousins ​​didn’t throw a first down in the first half on Monday night, the first time in his 13-year career. He threw a first down to open the second half, which led to an interception by Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane. Running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined to score 34 runs, which accounted for the majority of the team’s offense.

After the game, Cousins ​​said he needed to play better, and that Morris expressed this in his postgame press conference saying it was “obvious.”

Cousins, 36, completed 64.7% of his passes with 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, the most in the league. He also has 12 fumbles, tied for the most in the NFL with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The Falcons signed Cousins, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon that ended his 2023 season in Week 8, to a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason. About $100 million of that is guaranteed, although most of that money comes off the books by 2026. The Falcons will pay Cousins ​​$62.5 million this season.

Penix, 24, led Washington to the national championship game last season before the Falcons selected him No. 8 overall in the NFL draft in April. In his final year with the Huskies, he completed 65.4% of his passes with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and his 4,903 passing yards were the most in the country.

When it comes to playing Penix, Morris said Tuesday before the move that the Falcons are “being really smart and careful when it comes to our business,” but doesn’t necessarily think there’s a downside to having him in it plays intersection.

“You could never say there’s a downside to handing it over to someone you’ve invested a lot in, someone you brought here, someone you’ve done some things with, someone who hasn’t said anything other than the “I’ve done the right things since they got here,” Morris said of Penix.

The Falcons host the 2-12 Giants on Sunday. At 7-7, Atlanta is still in the playoff hunt, although a four-game losing streak has seen the team fall from first place in the NFC South.

When the Falcons drafted Penix, Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot made it clear that Cousins ​​would be the quarterback of the present and Penix would be their quarterback of the future. Cousins ​​was surprised by the draft pick after being informed of it just minutes earlier. However, he texted Penix later that evening and the two struck up a relationship that season.

Cousins ​​and Penix live on the same street in suburban Georgia and sometimes carpool to the team plane for away games.

Earlier this month, Penix said he supported Cousins ​​and believed he would turn things around. But he said he would be ready if the Falcons needed him.

“I have to be ready because you never know when the opportunity will come,” Penix said in early December. “So I always stay ready, but at the end of the day, like I said, it’s not up to me. I just have to continue to be ready, continue to be ready for that moment, whenever it comes.”