Falcons bench Kirk Cousins for Michael Penix Jr.

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.

The Falcons made the announcement on Tuesday night.

"After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward," coach Raheem Morris said in the statement. "This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants."

It's no surprise, given the things Morris said after Monday night's unexpectedly tight win over the Raiders, and then earlier today.

Still, it's a stunner. The Falcons gave Cousins a contract with $100 million fully guaranteed. Several weeks later, they made Penix the eighth overall pick in the draft.

But it's apparently time to shake things up. Cousins has thrown one touchdown pass and nine interceptions in the last five games. His passer rating landed under 80 in each one.

And so Penix gets his chance to shake things up. He was drafted to be the future. With three games left and a game to make up on the Buccaneers in order to get to the playoffs, the future is now.