Falcons bench Kirk Cousins, name Michael Penix Jr. starter

The Falcons are going to the bullpen.

Atlanta announced Tuesday that Michael Penix Jr. has earned the starting quarterback job over a struggling Kirk Cousins, with head coach Raheem Morris calling the move a “football decision.”

While the Falcons were able to leave Las Vegas with a victory on Monday night, Cousins’ productivity has lagged in recent weeks.

After bluntly saying that Cousins needs to play better during media availability following the game, Morris was asked point-blank on Tuesday if Cousins would remain the starting quarterback.

He neglected to give him a vote of confidence.

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

Cousins threw for just 112 yards on Monday — only 6.6 yards per attempt.

In the last five games combined, he has thrown one touchdown and nine interceptions.

The Falcons shocked the world by drafting Penix in the first round of the NFL draft earlier this year — with the Giants passing on the Washington product to take Malik Nabers with the No. 6-overall pick — after signing Cousins to a deal worth up to $180 million earlier in the offseason.

Morris acknowledged that Cousins has lost some of his confidence amid his struggles.

“There are ways to get it back,” Morris said. “That’s our job. That’s everybody’s job. We all need support at some point. We have to play better at that position.”

The silver lining for the 7-7 Falcons is that they are just one game behind the 8-6 Bucaneerss for the top spot in the NFC South.

The Falcons hold the tie-breaker over the Bucs, as Atlanta swept the season series.

After Monday night’s game, Morris was clearly dissatisfied with Cousins’ play.

“He’s got to play better and obviously, you got to go back, you got to get to look at everything,” he told reporters. “But he wants to play better. He’s got to play better. We’ve got to find a way to get him to play better.”

Cousins was aware that his play must improve.

“I think the last few weeks I would say I need to play better,” the quarterback said. “Raheem says it, but it’s stating the obvious, and every week you kind of go through your process and you plan to go out there and play the very best you can. And so, this week will be no different.”