Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are benching quarterback Kirk Cousins heading into their Week 16 game against the New York Giants in favor of first-rounder Michael Penix Jr., according to head coach Raheem Morris. Despite signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason, the Falcons are turning the page as they try to secure a playoff spot in the final three weeks. In the last five games, the 36-year-old Cousins has really struggled, throwing only one touchdown and nine interceptions. He went 11-for-17 for only 112 yards with a touchdown and interception in Monday's win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Cousins leads the NFL with 16 interceptions and has failed to give the Atlanta offense the boost he was expected to provide. Penix, 24, has lots of upside as the eighth overall pick, but he's raw -- he's played in two games and has gone 3-for-5 for 38 yards. The strong-armed lefty will be a low-end QB2 with upside.

Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo (undisclosed) reportedly hurt himself a bit during Monday's game, according to head coach Raheem Morris. It doesn't sound like too serious of an injury, but fantasy managers should stay tuned for another update on Wednesday. Koo made his lone extra point attempt and connected on 2-of-3 field goal attempts in the win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Possibly, the injury was part of the reason Koo missed his field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Regardless, fantasy managers will have to wait another day or two before getting a better update. Fantasy managers who have Koo rostered might want to get a backup plan in place in case he misses the Week 16 matchup against the New York Giants.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been named the starting quarterback moving forward, according to head coach Raheem Morris. This news comes a day after the 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Kirk Cousins was able to pull together a victory, but has one touchdown and nine interceptions over the last five games. The Falcons playoff hopes are quickly evaporating so they've decided to make a change at quarterback. Penix helped lead the Washington Huskies to an undefeated season and a trip to the National Championship game in 2023. Afterwards, the Falcons used the No. 8 overall selection on Penix in this year's draft. That seemed like an odd decision at the time given they'd just signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract. The hope is that a change at quarterback will jumpstart this offense. Penix will get a plus-matchup in his first career start against the New York Giants in Week 16. Although, fantasy managers can't be certain what they'll get right away, which makes Penix a risky streaming choice in the fantasy playoffs.

When asked if quarterback Kirk Cousins was still the Atlanta Falcons' starter heading into Week 16 against the New York Giants this Sunday, head coach Raheem Morris was non-committal. "We just got back. 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," Morris said. The Falcons didn't really need the arm of Cousins in their 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, and he went 11-for-17 for 112 yards, one touchdown and a league-high 16th interception of the season. In the four previous games, the 36-year-old veteran failed to throw a TD while tossing eight interceptions. Atlanta could probably get away with another similar game script against New York this weekend, but Cousins' downfall could lead the team to turn to rookie first-rounder Michael Penix Jr. Stay tuned.

The Atlanta Falcons didn't need to throw the ball much to defeat the lowly Las Vegas Raiders 15-9 on Monday Night Football to close out Week 15 action. On a night where quarterback Kirk Cousins attempted only 17 passes and threw for 112 yards, wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III caught one of his three targets for a gain of 14 yards. It was a disappointing performance in a great matchup after McCloud set season-highs across the board in catches (eight), targets (11) and receiving yards (98) in the Week 14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He also had 95 receiving yards the week prior. The 28-year-old is Atlanta's clear No. 3 wideout behind Drake London and Darnell Mooney, but with the way the Falcons' offense has struggled this year, he's not a realistic weekly flex play for fantasy managers. Keep in mind that Cousins has thrown one touchdown in the last five games.