The Falcons are turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback and benching veteran Kirk Cousins as they fight for their first playoff berth since 2017.

Coach Raheem Morris announced the decision in a statement Tuesday night.

The Falcons (7-7) ended a four-game skid with Monday night’s 15-9 road win against the Raiders.

Cousins passed for 112 yards with one touchdown — his first TD pass in five games — and one interception. The 36-year-old has thrown nine picks over the last five games and leads the NFL with 16 interceptions.

Cousins joined the Falcons on a four-year, $180 million deal in the offseason with $100 million guaranteed before Penix was taken No. 8 overall in the draft.

The QB move comes with the Falcons still contending for the NFC South title.

Auto racing: The two teams suing NASCAR over an antitrust complaint were granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday that allowed them to compete as chartered teams in the 2025 season. 23XI Racing, the team owned by Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports refused in September to sign take-it-or-leave it revenue sharing offers made by NASCAR. A charter is essentially a franchise and guarantees prize money, a spot in the field each week, and other protections. 23XI and Front Row can now sign the charter agreements and still pursue the lawsuit. ... Fred Lorenzen, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1965 Daytona champ, died. He was 89. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Lorenzen had been in declining health for years. In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. He won 26 career Cup races. Lorenzen battled dementia in his later years.

College basketball: Alex Karaban had seven of his 20 points in OT to lead No. 11 UConn to a 94-89 victory over Xavier in the Big East opener for both teams in Hartford, Conn. Solo Ball led the two-time defending national champion Huskies (9-3) with 22 points.