With Kirk Cousins's struggles at quarterback made plain to see on Monday Night Football in an Atlanta win over the hapless Raiders, Falcons coach Raheem Morris announced on Tuesday night that first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. is the new starting quarterback for his team moving forward.
"After review we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward," Morris said in a statement released by the team. "This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday's game against the New York Giants."
Though nothing has been made official and the Titans do not have an exciting rookie like Penix waiting to take over under center, it seems there will be a similar switch in Nashville. According to ESPN, Tennessee is planning to swap quarterbacks for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Instead of deploying second-year starter Will Levis against Indy, the Titans will roll with former Pittsburgh Steeler Mason Rudolph at the helm of Tennesee's underwhelming offense (unless the team makes the surprise move of awarding the start to practice-squad member Trevor Siemian).
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A middle-of-the-road starter for Pittsburgh, Rudolph had four starts earlier this season while Levis was out because of a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder and also relieved the 25-year-old QB on Sunday after he threw his third interception of the day, a pick-six by safety Geno Stone of the Bengals.
Rudolph (21-of-26 for 209 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception) wasn't perfect in relief, but he was certainly better than Levis (8-of-12 for 89 yards with three interceptions and a fumble lost). "Today wasn't his day," Titans coach Brian Callahan said of the latter after the game. "He had a couple bad picks, put us in some tough spots, so I made a decision to sit him down."
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Callahan's decision to sit Levis, who has lost five fumbles and thrown 12 interceptions (including an NFL-high four pick-sixes) this season, apparently will extend to this weekend and perhaps the rest of the season. That being the case, expect the Titans to look for an upgrade at quarterback through the draft or free agency this offseason.
For the weekend before Christmas, that upgrade will be Rudolph.
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