Oh come on, Falcons.

Despite getting a rare great performance from one of the league’s worst defenses, Atlanta screwed up so badly that Raheem Morris and the rest of the coaching staff will be defending their $180 million quarterback investment for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to the selection of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in April’s draft, incumbent starter Kirk Cousins ​​will always be on the hot seat, but the Heat is even worse after an abysmal performance against the Chargers, where he was The game directly resulted in the Falcons losing 17:13.

Cousins ​​was brought in to help stabilize this offense after a few years of terrible quarterback play, but it appears his limitations are becoming too great for the Falcons to overcome, putting them at a crossroads with their quarterback situation .

They had plenty of opportunities to beat the Chargers. They had just one offensive touchdown, were held to 187 yards of offense the entire game, and had the second-worst performance this season in yards per game (4.1) and expected points per drive (-1.34). This was the Falcons defense’s best performance this season, and they still missed the chance. When the Falcons lose games in which they had such a defensive performance, something obviously went terribly wrong on the other side of the ball – this time the blame falls squarely on the quarterback.

Cousins ​​threw four equally terrible interceptions over the course of the game. There was a pick 6, a weakly thrown ball when the Falcons were in position to score and an inaccurate throw that ended the game. Just miserable, terrible football that completely ruined any attempt to win.

After the game, head coach Raheem Morris defended Cousins ​​and his play, saying that he got the Falcons to a point where they had a chance to win the division. That’s partly true — Cousins’ play in October actually helped the Falcons take an early lead in the NFC South. He was undoubtedly better than the combination of Desmond Ridder, Marcus Mariota and Taylor Heinecke over the past two years, which led to the Falcons sprinting to Cousins ​​in free agency for help.

However, due to the torn Achilles tendon he suffered last year, he clearly has a much lower ceiling for his game and has turned the Falcons’ offense into an increasingly easier unit to defend. Because of Cousins’ immobility, they run play at one of the lowest rates in the league and often find themselves in situations where they run a stagnant passing game that doesn’t leave the defense guessing at all. The Falcons boast one of the league’s best rushing attacks, led by Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, but simply cannot maximize everything they bring to the table because they are limited by Cousins’ limitations. In a game where the Falcons had never lost by more than one possession, it’s just baffling that they can’t reach into a bag of tricks and press a few simple buttons that don’t put Drake London in starting position for a quick play.

This is where things get dangerous for the Falcons. ESPN reported that Cousins’ future with the team was in doubt – which it was before to Cousins, who totally blew it against the Chargers. Penix is ​​the team’s plan for the future and them will Speed ​​up that process when Cousins ​​tanks at the end of the season. If they end up missing their shot at the playoffs, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Penix will get significant snaps in games this season.

Of course, the fact that this is even on the table suggests that this experience is trending towards pure failure. If the Falcons cut Cousins ​​after the season, they’ll have to deal with a $65 million cap hit, according to Spotrac, which will make building a quality team around Penix much more difficult than it already will inherently be.

This is a difficult situation for the Falcons, but it is glaring that Cousins ​​is actively preventing the offense from reaching its full potential.

Could a rookie quarterback do better? Probably not, realistically speaking. Still, the Falcons face a future in which the Penix era begins sooner than many expected.