ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons won’t be benching veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. this week, and if they’re not going to do it this week, don’t expect them to do it at any point this season because Sunday was bad.
Cousins tied his career high with four interceptions and had the fifth-worst passer rating of his 13-year career as the Falcons fell 17-13 to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“That guy has carried us this season,” first-year head coach Raheem Morris said. “He has done such a marvelous job that it’s hard to throw that guy under the bus after what he’s done for us. We will bounce back, we will bring him back and we’ll be ready to go.”
The Falcons (6-6) signed Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million in the offseason believing he could carry them to a division title and the playoffs. They drafted Penix with the No. 8 pick in April’s draft to be the future at the position, and they’re sticking with that plan even if a day like Sunday makes it feel like a blend of stubbornness and hubris.
Cousins “has got us to the point where we are 6-6, still in first place in the division, still got everything in front of us,” Morris said. “It’s up to us to bounce back and win football games, and there is no better man than (number) 18 to do that for us.”
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Cousins, who last threw four interceptions more than a decade ago as the quarterback in Washington, said he only wants to keep the starting job if he earns that right.
“There’s no entitlement in the NFL,” Cousins said. “If it ever was that, I wouldn’t want it. I need to play at a level that justifies being out there. That’s the way I’ll always view it. I’ve always felt like it should never be about anything except earning the right to be out there.”
He understands he didn’t do that against the Chargers (8-4) even though the Falcons outgained them 350-187.
“It hurts when you feel like your defense played winning football, your special teams made big plays, run game did a solid job,” Cousins said. “You take responsibility and you go back and watch it with a really critical eye and say, ‘OK, how can I make sure this never happens again?’ That’s the mindset. It hurts. Feel like that was a game we had a chance to win if I play at the standard I expect to play at.”
The Falcons have lost three straight games. In that stretch, Cousins has six interceptions, no touchdowns and is 31st in the league in passer rating (59.1) and EPA per dropback (minus-.14), according to TruMedia.
“I’ve never felt like whether you were playing really good for a few weeks in a row or poorly that the games carry over,” Cousins said. “You just have to perform the best you can each week. It’s not any one thing showing up every game, you just have to go back and get better as a player.”
Chargers rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still intercepted Cousins twice, returning one for a 61-yard touchdown that gave Los Angeles a 17-10 lead in the third quarter. Amazingly, that might not have been Cousins’ worst interception of the day. That came in the fourth quarter as he lofted a pass into a huddle of Chargers in the end zone. Cousins said the pick-six was the result of trying to be “too decisive” and not properly reading the coverage and the interception in the end zone was the result of making a bad decision trying to get a jump ball up to Drake London.
welcome to la, marcus maye
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/Azos8sSToq
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 1, 2024
“He’s so good at going up. It was just trying to do too much. I should just throw that ball away,” Cousins said. “I misinterpreted where I could put the ball to Drake trying to get him a jump ball.”
London, who dropped a pass that would have given the Falcons a first down in the red zone in the final minute, said he played as poorly as Cousins and defended his quarterback.
“That question kind of irks me a little bit,” London said when asked if he would say anything to Cousins to help him bounce back. “I really don’t like that. Kirk is more than an exceptional quarterback. He’s in the history books. We all had an off day. Every loss is an off day. If I was to catch that ball and we drive down there and score, I’m pretty sure nobody would care about those picks.”
Cousins’ performance shouldn’t be blamed on his health, the 36-year-old said.
“Coming off the bye week, I felt really good,” he said. “I would love to tell you that I’m fighting through something, but that’s not the case. I felt as good today as I have all season.”
Cousins and the Falcons play at Minnesota on Sunday. The Vikings let Cousins leave in free agency in the offseason and now are 10-2 with Sam Darnold at quarterback. The matchup gives Cousins a chance to turn around his recent struggles in storybook fashion. It also gives the Vikings a chance to, if only under their breath, say, “We told you so,” when the game is finished.
“I have no doubt in my mind (Cousins) can bounce back, particularly against his former team,” Morris said.
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Cousins’ day negated the best performance of the season by the Falcons defense, which had a season-high five sacks and held the Chargers to 58 yards rushing, 54 below their season average. The five sacks were the sixth most by the Falcons since 2010 and half of the amount they had totaled in the first 11 games of the season.
“Won’t be gloating about the pass rush today,” Morris said. “We will watch the tape, find out what we did really well. Hopefully it’s repeatable and we can get those results again.”
Atlanta’s defenders weren’t surprised by the pass rush success, outside linebacker Matthew Judon said.
“No, that only surprised y’all,” he said.
Running back Bijan Robinson had 102 rushing yards and six catches for 33 yards.
“This wasn’t a debacle,” Morris said. “This wasn’t one of those games that happened before the bye, this was a situation where we have to get one phase of our game fixed, and I know we can do that.”
The Falcons remain in first place in the NFC South despite the loss.
“We’re still winning our division … I believe,” wide receiver Darnell Mooney said. “Just got to treat every game like a playoff game.”
After the Vikings game, the Falcons play the Raiders, Giants, Commanders and Panthers.
“We have so much football in front of us that if we execute at a high level and win, we can go get what we want,” Cousins said.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
