NEW ORLEANS – No player in the NFL wants to have their starting role removed, especially not a team’s franchise quarterback.
Atlanta Falcons veteran Kirk Cousins had to deal with that reality ahead of Week 15, amid a division title race no less, when head coach Raheem Morris said he was turning to Michael Penix Jr. to play under center.
Cousins had been struggling despite coming off a 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders the week prior. Before that game, four straight losses saw Atlanta dip under .500. So, Morris had Penix face the New York Giants for his first career start.
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Falcons quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins on the field before the Pittsburgh Steelers game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)
Speaking with Fox News Digital on Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Penix explained the key advice he gathered from Cousins, who he had watched and studied all season.
“Just let the game come to you and be patient,” Penix said while also discussing his partnership with Sharpie. “Even if you call a shot play, or a big play, you don’t have to take the big play if it’s not there. A lot of the stuff I learned from him was a lot of visual things, just the way he moved through his progression, getting to his fifth read, that’s hard to do, especially at the level we’re playing at. Hearing him in meetings talking about how he got to that last read, how he canceled out stuff early and stuff like that, it helped me out when I got in there early.”
Penix’s first start didn’t see his first career touchdown pass, but he went 18-for-27 for 202 yards with an interception. With help from his defense, which scored two touchdowns on the lowly Giants, the Falcons won 34-7, hitting 8-7 on the season.
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Penix said the usual jitters weren’t there thanks to seeing a few snaps in losses earlier in the season, as well as preseason play. But he also knows nothing can prepare you for that first start… unless you’re acting like a starter each week.
He said his biggest takeaway from the season was having the mindset of always being ready, which may need to happen next year as well with Cousins remaining under contract despite Morris turning to his young rookie at the end of the season.
“I feel like I always had to be ready because I didn’t know when my time was going to be,” he said. “Whenever it did come, I wanted to be ready for that moment. Each and every day, I prepared like I was the starter. I prepared like I was going to be out there. So, whenever that moment did come, it didn’t seem like a surprise for me.”
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. runs against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Penix couldn’t lead the Falcons to the NFC South title, losing his final two starts of his rookie campaign. However, he showed flashes of why the Falcons were so high on him with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Heading into his sophomore season, Penix will continue working hard with his mindset not changing. But his experience with Cousins shows that, while the veteran gunslinger wants to remain a starter in the league, he’s willing to teach the next generation in his quarterbacks room.
‘PASSING THE PEN’ WITH SHARPIE
Penix was among Sharpie’s “Rookies of the Year,” which marked the inaugural class as they headed into their professional journeys. From signing day, to his My Cause My Cleats this season, Sharpie has allowed Penix to add a personal touch to his rookie moments.
Now, he’s ready to “pass the pen” to the next class, which includes top NFL prospects Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State and Tetairoa McMillan from Arizona. He shared his love for their respective game.
“Those two in particular, I played against T-Mac, McMillan, just seeing him live, he makes big-time plays,” he said. “He’s a great receiver and he’s going to do a great job in this league, and with Sharpie. I’m looking forward to it. With Ashton, the year that he had, coming second in Heisman, I did that last year, too. The year he had as a running back at the college level, it was something that was very special, and he was almost put at number on as far as yards and stuff like that. Big kudos to you guys.”
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As a lefty, Penix has had to deal with smudges all over his work from a young age. But he showed his appreciation for the Sharpie S-Gel with it’s “No Smear, No Smudge Technology.”
“It was crazy. It sucked when you didn’t have that Sharpie pen in your hand, but I found the solution now, so I’m super excited to be able to do that,” he said.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
