Falcons drafting Penix no longer a head-scratcher with rookie QB shining in place of benched Cousins

The Atlanta Falcons drafting of Michael Penix Jr. just six weeks after signing Kirk Cousins to a $180 million contract doesn't seem like that much of a head-scratcher anymore.

Penix, the eighth overall pick in this year's draft, was supposed to serve as Cousins' understudy for a year or two, a plan that was scuttled when Cousins quickly lost the zip and accuracy on his passes and his grip on the starting job.

It was hard to argue with making the change after Cousins had nine picks and one touchdown pass in his last five starts — but it was a daring move nonetheless with the Falcons trailing first-place Tampa Bay by a single game with three weeks left.

Penix made the move pay off with a solid first NFL start in the Falcons' 34-7 rout of the New York Giants on Sunday that bolstered Atlanta's playoff hopes, and the Falcons (8-7) moved back into first place in the NFC South with the Buccaneers' loss at Dallas on Sunday night.

The left-hander was not at all overwhelmed by the moment, completing 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards — numbers that would’ve been better if not for at least three dropped passes, one of which Kyle Pitts bobbled right into the hands of a New York defender for Penix’s lone interception.

“He went out and played almost flawless football,” coach Raheem Morris said.

Cousins will almost certainly be looking for his fourth team in 2025.

If the Falcons cut ties as expected, they'll have paid Cousins $90 million for 14 games. Cousins' career earnings are about $321 million and his record is 84-77-2, including a 1-3 mark in the playoffs and 7-7 this season.

In the spirit of expedited judgments, let's take a gander at how other quarterbacks have fared with their new teams in 2024.

The Pittsburgh Steelers landed the biggest bargain of the season in Wilson, whom they signed for the veteran's minimum of $1.21 million, leaving his former team, the Denver Broncos, on the hook for the remaining $37.79 million of his 2024 salary.

Wilson's calf injury in camp forced the Steelers to start Justin Fields, who went 4-2 before Mike Tomlin made the risky switch to Wilson, who's gone 6-3 with 15 TD throws and four interceptions.

With the Steelers (10-5) playoff-bound, Wilson will make his first postseason appearance since 2020. The only question is whether it'll be at home as AFC North champ or on the road as a wild-card. They're tied with the Ravens atop the division but currently own the tiebreaker.

This was expected to be a rebuilding year in Minnesota after the Vikings lost Cousins in free agency. They signed Darnold, the third overall pick in 2018, to a $10 million, one-year contract and drafted national champion J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick.

McCarthy tore the meniscus in his right knee during the preseason opener and has undergone two surgeries, opening the way for Darnold's breakthrough season.

Darnold brought a 21-35 career record with him to Minneapolis and all he's done is go 13-2 while setting career highs with 32 touchdown passes, 3,776 passing yards and a 67.2% completion percentage.

The Vikings are tied with the Lions atop the packed NFC North and the division crown could come down to Minnesota's season finale at Detroit on Jan. 5.

The Las Vegas Raiders signed Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract and he beat out incumbent Aidan O'Connell for the starting gig. But he only went 2-7 and sustained a season-ending broken collarbone in a Week 12 loss to the Broncos, opening the door for O'Connell (1-4) to return.

The Raiders' 19-14 win over Jacksonville on Sunday snapped a 10-game skid but might have taken them out of the Shedeur Sanders sweepstakes. They are 3-12, a game behind the Giants (2-13), who jettisoned QB Daniel Jones less than two years after signing him to a four-year, $160 million contract and have gone with Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito instead.

The Chicago Bears had high hopes after drafting Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, but it might turn out that the second QB taken — Washington's Jayden Daniels — is better than the first as was the case last year when C.J. Stroud outperformed Carolina's Bryce Young.

Williams has a terrific TD-to-INT ratio of 19-5, but the Bears are 4-11 and have lost nine in a row. Their last win came way back on Oct. 13 against Jacksonville.

The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU has led the Washington Commanders (10-5) to the cusp of their first playoff appearance since 2020. His bolstered his Rookie of the Year credentials with a five-TD performance Sunday in leading the Commanders to a 36-33 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the year, Daniels has 22 TD throws and eight interceptions.

The former Auburn and Oregon star hasn't looked much like a rookie after starting an NCAA QB record 61 times in college. The Broncos (9-6) could snap an eight-year playoff drought with a win Sunday at Cincinnati thanks to Nix's steady play, Sean Payton's exhaustive guidance and Denver's traditionally stingy defense.

Nix was drafted 12th overall after the Broncos released Wilson despite a a whopping $85 million dead money charge on top of the $37.79 million they're paying Wilson to play for Pittsburgh this year.

With 22 TDs and 11 interceptions, Nix has almost matched Russell's win total (11-19) in his two seasons in Denver.

AP Sports Writer Paul Newberry in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Behind the Call analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL during the season.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams warms up before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) throwing the ball as Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) charges in during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a pass during the first half an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, left, gestures while scrambling against Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Broderick Washington during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) throws the ball in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Atlanta, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Gunfire has rung out for days from the West Bank's Jenin refugee camp. But this time, it’s not Israeli forces that are facing off against armed groups. It is the forces of the Palestinian Authority clashing with Palestinian gunmen.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied territory, launched a rare crackdown earlier this month that has sparked one of the worst armed confrontations between Palestinians in years. The authority says it wants to bring law and order to what's long been a hotbed of militancy and a place where it has little control.

Its ability to contain armed groups there will reverberate far beyond the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority wants to position itself to take over governance in Gaza once the war there ends. But confronting Palestinians at a time when many view the authority as a subcontractor for Israel could deepen divisions in Palestinian society.

Here is a look at the days of fighting between Palestinians in the West Bank:

Earlier this month, security forces for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority stormed into Jenin refugee camp, a restive militant stronghold, and began a crackdown against armed groups.

Fighting has raged in the streets of the camp, and armored cars are seen patrolling. Palestinian security forces have taken over part of a hospital, using it as a base and shooting from inside, according to the United Nations.

At least one militant from the Islamic Jihad group has been killed as have two security force members, according to the Palestinian forces. About 50 people have been arrested.

At least two uninvolved civilians have been killed and some wounded. The fighting prompted the main U.N. agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, to suspend its services, including schooling. The violence has disrupted safe access for Palestinians to other services, including water and health. It also has complicated the restoration of services destroyed in previous Israeli raids of the camp.

The urban, built-up refugee camp in the northern West Bank houses Palestinians whose families were displaced in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. It has long been a center for Palestinian militancy and a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. The militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas operate freely there, and its streets are regularly lined with posters depicting slain fighters as martyrs for the Palestinian cause.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers the main Palestinian population centers of the West Bank as part of interim peace agreements with Israel from the 1990s, has little presence in Jenin. Many people view the Palestinian Authority forces with suspicion and see them as serving Israel's interests because of security coordination that has facilitated Israel's own crackdowns on Palestinians.

The refugee camp and the adjacent city of Jenin have long been targets of Israel in its stated bid to stamp out militancy. Since the start of the war in Gaza, which has sparked a wave of violence in the West Bank, Israel has raided or carried out airstrikes in Jenin multiple times, killing dozens and leaving heavy destruction.

Palestinian health officials say Israeli raids throughout the West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023, have killed more than 800 Palestinians. Israel says most of these are militants, but youth throwing stones and people not involved in confrontations have also been killed.

According to Brig. Gen. Anwar Rajab, the spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces, the raid is meant to impose law and order and restore peace and security. The troops were focused on “eradicating” Iran-backed groups that were trying to incite “chaos and anarchy,” he added. The raid will end when those goals are reached, according to the security forces.

But the raid is also shining a spotlight on the Palestinian Authority's ability to impose order and security in a restive area. With no clear vision for who will administer postwar Gaza, the raid could convince skeptics that the authority has what it takes to rule the Palestinian enclave. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is considering an agreement with Hamas that would create a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war. The committee would report to him.

The Biden administration sees a rehabilitated Palestinian Authority as the best option to govern and secure postwar Gaza. The U.S. has for years invested heavily in training the Palestinian security forces, and the administration has seen its re-entry into Gaza, after being routed by Hamas in 2007, as a feasible replacement for Hamas, whose rule Israel has sought to end with the war.

Israel rejects this idea, seeing the Palestinian Authority as too weak to be able to contain Hamas. It says it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza.

The incoming Trump administration has not yet laid out its vision for postwar Gaza, but Trump's first term was overwhelmingly supportive of Israel's positions.

Palestinians are not strangers to divisions within their society, with the most prominent the rift between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party. The parties fought bloody street wars in Gaza before Hamas forced Fatah out of the territory, and the sides have failed to reconcile since.

Since then, the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority has tried to diminish Hamas' influence in the West Bank, often with Israel's help.

Reeling from the yearslong internal rift, Palestinians have staged general strikes and protests calling for unity. But the raid could deepen the perception of the Palestinian Authority as a facilitator of Israel's whims and potentially undermine any popular support for it to return to effectively rule Gaza.

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Armored Palestinian security vehicles are seen on the road as Palestinian forces mount a major raid against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Closed shops during a general strike called as Palestinian security forces mount a major raid against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Journalists take cover from gunfire as Palestinian security forces mount a major raid against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Armored Palestinian security vehicles are seen on the road as Palestinian forces mount a major raid against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinians sit in front of closed shops during a general strike called as Palestinian security forces mount a major raid against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinians sit in front of closed shops during a general strike called as Palestinian security forces mount a major raid against militants in the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)