The quarterback room at the Falcons has had a long and strange ride. Atlanta experimented with quarterback roulette for four years in a row, trying out Taylor Heinicke, Desmond Ridder, and Marcus Mariota. Then came the move that screamed stability: offering Kirk Cousins a $180 million contract. Veteran experience. Leadership. A proven passer. But somewhere between his Achilles tear in 2023 and Atlanta’s playbook, the whole ‘proven passer’ part was gone. A quarterback who’s ranked at the top in touchdowns, passer rating, and off-target rate on play-action throws the last two seasons couldn’t run any of it in Atlanta.

After Cousins was under center, the Falcons reportedly abandoned any play-action ideas from the offense. Yes, let that sink in. A quarterback known for making a living off play-action (see: his Vikings tape with Dalvin Cook) suddenly operated without it in Atlanta. Team insiders and CBS Sports claim that the play-action game just disappeared in Atlanta. When the quarterback appeared—well, like a veteran quarterback after surgery – Zach Robinson, Atlanta’s new offensive coordinator and a disciple of Sean McVay, was unable to call those boots and rollouts. “Atlanta did essentially no play-action passing with Kirk Cousins a shell of himself post-Achilles tear,” CBS Sports reported.

And yes, the stats make it worse. Cousins used play action on about 29% of his drop-backs between 2022 and 2023, which is the fourth-highest percentage in the NFL. He had a 102.8 passer rating during that time and tossed 17 touchdowns to just 4 picks. This wasn’t just a strength. It was his superpower in the system. So what changed? Reportedly, everything. 

Cousins was not agile enough for boots after his injury. His timing was not right. There was no rhythm. Atlanta didn’t want to build their shiny new offense on a structure that now required concrete shoes and three seconds of clean pocket time. To put it briefly, Cousins, the play-action-heavy playbook that was brought in to run, never even made it off the shelf. It wasn’t just the mobility concerns. It was the timing. The ‘oomph’ had vanished. Although the staff apparently saw enough to put a stop to any offensive scheme that required prolonged movement or deception, Cousins was still competent in short stretches. But then a rookie showed up. Michael Penix Jr. 

Michael Penix Jr. revived what Kirk Cousins couldn’t run

Penix Jr. – the eighth overall choice in a crowded quarterback class – armed with a cannon, gave a second chance for Atlanta’s offense. The Falcons brought play-action back, with Penix in the lineup- sparingly, but noticeably. Suddenly, a previously inactive section of the playbook was once again available. Penix isn’t a scrambler, but he moves well enough. And he offered the Falcons a reason to try again with his deep-ball skills – 10.2 air yards per attempt, 15.5% explosive pass rate. The flashes were electric, but he only started three games last season.

“He surprised all the guys on the sideline. Like, ‘Oh, wow. All right, that was a good throw.’ – Good job, Mike,” Coach T.J. Yates said after one tight-window missile in Week 18. And those throws weren’t just flashy – they were gutsy. Penix ripped a ball past two defenders against Carolina that had the Falcons’ bench buzzing. That’s not just arm strength. That’s field vision, trust, and raw confidence.

But still, accuracy remains a work in progress. 58.1% completion and eight drops in three starts, but the potential is real. And more importantly, it’s reshaping Atlanta’s offensive identity. The Falcons’ coaching staff isn’t blind to the aggression. “He’s an aggressive player with an aggressive arm, but sometimes you got to be able to dial it back a little bit,” Yates noted. “But it’s one of his greatest assets, so we don’t want to over-coach or out-coach some of those things out of his system.”

In just three starts, Penix didn’t just impress – he forced the Falcons to remember what a vertical, deceptive, aggressive offense could look like. And Kirk Cousins may not have gotten the offense he was promised. But ironically, his presence helped accelerate the one that might define Atlanta’s next era.