New Orleans Saints fans watched this offseason as the praise poured in for the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a lucrative contract in free agency and finally looked to have a quarterback who could make them a competitive team in 2024.
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Well, that has not been the case. Ever since the Saints knocked off the Falcons in early November, things spiraled out of control for Atlanta. That Saints win was the start of a 1-4 run for Cousins and the Falcons and during that time, the veteran quarterback threw just one touchdown versus nine interceptions.
The Falcons decided enough was enough and benched Cousins, signaling the end of the Cousins era and the beginning of the Michael Penix Jr. era in Atlanta.
Saints fans can only laugh as Kirk Cousins experiment fails epically
The Falcons were looped in as playoff (and to some extent, Super Bowl) contenders this season and it got annoying to hear about all offseason long. The fact of the matter is that Cousins was entering his age-36 season and coming off Achilles surgery when he signed the deal with Atlanta. The team clearly knew he wasn't going to make it through that deal either, as they spent the eighth overall pick on Penix when they had already signed Cousins.
People made fun of Atlanta for that decision and for good reason. They could have tried to give Cousins some more help if he really was their long-term plan but instead, they showed they didn't believe he was the long-term answer. He helped them prove why that was the case with absolutely abysmal performances over the past month, making the decision to bench him even easier.
If Penix goes on to ball out in these final three games, this benching will be less funny but at least the Falcons also overpaid an underperforming veteran quarterback. That sounds familiar, doesn't it, Saints fans?