FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Less than 24 hours after being benched, Kirk Cousins said he will do what he can to help new Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris on Tuesday made the decision to start Penix following the team's 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on "Monday Night Football." Cousins struggled in that game, was limited in the game plan and now has nine interceptions in his past five outings.
"It's pro football, and there's a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that unfortunately I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough," Cousins said Wednesday in his first comments since the change. "And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready -- 'one play away' kind of a thing -- and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that's what it's all about."
Cousins said he spoke to Morris on the phone Tuesday evening and was informed that Penix would start moving forward. After that, Cousins said he called the rookie.
"Just let him know I'd be in his corner and supporting him and trying to help him any way I can," Cousins said.
Why did he feel the need to make that phone call?
"I like to shoot elephants in the room, so I just wanted to shoot one," Cousins said.
Penix said he was shopping with his girlfriend at Costco when he got the call from Morris that he'd be the starter for the rest of the season. He was about to buy a hot dog, but said once he got the news he wasn't hungry anymore.
"As you can imagine, it was some nerves, it was excitement, but I'm just super blessed to be in this position, super blessed to be on this team for the opportunity," Penix said.
The Falcons are 7-7 and sitting in second place in the NFC South. They own the tiebreaker over the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers and still have a 20% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) projections.
Atlanta hosts the two-win New York Giants on Sunday.
Morris said Wednesday that the biggest factor in benching Cousins was his turnovers. Cousins has a league-high 16 interceptions, and his 12 fumbles is tied for the most in the NFL with Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Cousins, 36, said he agreed with Morris that turnovers are a killer in the NFL. He reiterated that, despite coming back from a torn Achilles in 2023, he is not injured.
"I think going back to the turnovers, I think that's more probably decision-making than anything, and that wouldn't have anything to do with any physical limitations," Cousins said.
Morris said that Cousins expressed to him that he'll be "the best No. 2 quarterback in the National Football League."
As far as the future beyond this season, Cousins said he will deal with that when the time comes.
When asked whether he still wanted to be a starter in the NFL, Cousins replied: "I didn't forget how to play quarterback. Certainly turnovers were not what you want, but I didn't forget how to play."
Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said the team had a walkthrough Wednesday with about 72 offensive snaps and Penix threw the ball on every single one of them.
Penix said while in the huddle he felt himself almost emulating Cousins because he's been studying him so closely this season.
"Just the way he processed, the way he speaks to the team in meetings on the field, just the command he has to the offense, getting things the way that he wanted so that he could play fast," Penix. "I look up to Kirk and, to be honest, Kirk couldn't do no wrong in my eyes, so it was like dang, when I saw him in camp leading all the way up through the season, he's special."