The Kirk Cousins era in Atlanta is over. There was one?

There was. For fourteen games. After five subpar performances, Cousins has been benched for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

It’s no surprise, given the things Morris said after Monday night’s unexpectedly tight win over the Raiders, and then earlier today, the story pointed out. As the story also added, it's a pretty stunning move considering the team is coming off a win, and they gave Cousins a contract with $100 million guaranteed. Of course, Penix was the eighth overall pick in the NFL Draft this past spring. It's tough to tell what fantasy owners will get if they need to start Penix this week, as it will be a bit of a risky call given it's likely a fantasy playoff game. The weapons are certainly there for him to have some success, and, it's a home game against the Giants. Owners can probably view him in the QB2 range for those type of leagues.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris stopped short of saying Kirk Cousins remains the team’s starting quarterback after Monday night’s 15-9 win over the Raiders and he didn’t cross that line on Tuesday either.

“We just got back,” Morris said, via Josh Kendall of TheAthletic.com. “We still have to go through that process. All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn’t play well enough at the quarterback position.”

Related players: Michael Penix Jr.

Morris was asked again if Cousins will get the start against the Giants on Sunday in Week 16 and he again didn’t rule out any move involving Cousins or Penix, the story went on to say. Morris cited the team’s late return from Las Vegas while saying that they still need to go through their process to decide the best path to winning games, the story added. The Falcons did get the win in Week 15 but it wasn't pretty. The Falcons get the Giants in Week 16 - so it's either a matchup to try and get Cousins back on track, or a matchup to give your rookie QB his first start. Several teams like the Browns and Titans have already made QB changes this week. Those owning Cousins and counting on him for this week should probably have a backup plan.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told the media Saturday that rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will not play in the remainder of the preseason.

"We feel really good with where we're at with Michael," Morris said, via McElhaney. "Mike showed us, last week, enough that we don't have to play him in the preseason." As a result, Penix did not play Saturday against the Ravens and will not play Friday against the Jaguars. Penix threw for 104 yards on 9-of-16 passing in his preseason debut. The question now becomes when will we see Penix play again. Kirk Cousins isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Falcons had raved about Penix since before the draft and this quote is just the latest example.