Kirk Cousins Addresses Falcons Benching: 'I Wasn't Playing Up to That Standard'

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins opened up publicly about his benching for the first time on Wednesday.

"It's pro football," he told reporters. "There's a standard I have for myself and the team has for me, and unfortunately I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough."

He also said his decision-making was the problem and not any physical limitations from his Achilles injury he suffered last season while on the Minnesota Vikings. What's more, the veteran said he reached out to Michael Penix Jr. and offered his support as the rookie prepares to take over the starting role for the stretch run.

With the Falcons still in the middle of the NFC playoff race heading into the final three games of the regular season, head coach Raheem Morris released a statement Tuesday announcing the quarterback change.

"After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward," Morris said. "This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants."

Atlanta's quarterback situation has been under the spotlight since the offseason when it made the decision to both sign Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract despite the significant injury he suffered last season at 35 years old and draft Penix with the No. 8 overall pick.

While Cousins is a four-time Pro Bowler, it felt like just a matter of time before Penix would eventually take over.

After all, teams don't use the No. 8 overall pick on signal-callers just for them to sit behind a veteran over the course of an entire four-year deal, even if that contract is for $180 million. Still, it seemed like Cousins would remain the quarterback through at least the first year of that deal when the team got off to a 6-3 start.

However, things have changed of late.

Atlanta snapped a four-game losing streak with an ugly 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday. Cousins threw for just 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception, continuing a poor stretch of play that has seen him throw one touchdown to nine interceptions in the last five games.

One of those contests was a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in which he threw four interceptions.

The recent struggles mean the benching comes as anything but a surprise, especially with the Falcons still just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. They also have the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series against Tampa Bay, so there is still a golden opportunity to make a move.

It will be up to Penix to make it.