FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — This would be quite the time for Kirk Cousins to have, well, another breakout game.
After all, Cousins is headed back to Minnesota, where he spent six seasons with the Vikings before signing that massive free agent contract last spring with the Falcons. Maybe the familiarity of playing at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday can trigger some special rhythm.
Then again, after last weekend’s dreadful outing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Cousins matched his career high with four interceptions against the Los Angeles Chargers – any venue could work. At any time.
Cousins, 36, hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in three consecutive games – the longest streak in his career, since becoming a starter in 2014 – and the Falcons (6-6) have tumbled right along with the quarterback in dropping three straight games.
This looks a whole lot like a crisis for a team that at one point looked to be a lock to win the NFC South crown.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
“We’ve got to get back on the right track,” Cousins said after Wednesday’s practice. “The best thing we can do is get another game here. So, I’d love to play today, really. That’s how you want to get out there and play and get this taste out of your mouth. That’s what we’re chasing for on Sunday: a much better outing. They’re not going to give it to us, I know that.”
It’s some kind of fate that Cousins, with six interceptions during the losing streak and just one pick away from matching his career high (14), must now contend with a Vikings defense that leads the NFL with 18 interceptions and is tied for second in the league with 24 takeaways. To get out of his slump, he’ll have to decipher the deceptive schemes cooked up by defensive coordinator Brian Flores that have given so many quarterbacks fits this season.
Of course, in his 13th NFL season, Cousins would not have lasted this long if he didn’t have the ability to bounce back. He wouldn’t dismiss the suggestion from a reporter that his recent struggles could fuel the plot for a sports comeback movie, then in his typically gracious style, reflected on some of the challenges faced during his journey.
There was a broken ankle in high school that he thought ruined his chance for a college scholarship. A fourth-round draft selection by Washington that he thought was a dead-end, given that Robert Griffin III was also chosen by the team, second overall. A benching. A slump. And so on.
“It’s just kind of been a deal where this league, football, my journey, it always kicks you down and you’ve got to find a way to get back up,” he said. “I find myself there again. I just have to believe that tough times don’t last, tough people do.
“At some point they’ll tell you you’re not going to get another chance. Your time’s up in this league. Until then, I’m going to get trying to pick myself up off the mat and get back to work.”
Listen to Falcons coach Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson, calling plays for the first time in his career as offensive coordinator, and they’ll contend that the issues confronting their quarterback can hardly be placed in a neat box as one defining problem. As Robinson put it, there are 22 moving parts on any given play.
“Each play is its own entity,” Robinson said.
Maybe so. But the questions are mounting.
Are Cousins’ passes losing zip? Have the Falcons’ schemes become predictable? Will the $180 million investment in Cousins pay off?
Cousins himself bemoans pressing – adding a layer of pressure on top of the already immense scrutiny – on some of the decisions that backfired.
“I just think trying to make things happen can sometimes get you in trouble,” he said. “That happened, certainly, on Sunday. You’ve got to let the plays happen as they present themselves. So, that’s important. I learned that again, as I have many times. I was reminded of that on Sunday. That’s just part of playing, to be able to discern when to make that tight window throw, when not to. When to throw an opportunity ball, when not to.”
Teammates, mindful of the 500-yard game he put up in early October, are apparently giving Cousins the benefit of the doubt. They talk about his process and even-keeled disposition as leadership-by-example benefits.
“I’m always watching Kirk throughout the week to see what his preparation is like,” Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III said. “To be honest, it’s the same Kirk. Whether we’re having a great game, whether he’s coming off one of his worst games, it’s still the same Kirk.”
Consistency. That’s the ticket. It’s just a bit baffling that the consistency that Cousins models behind the scenes with his preparation hasn’t always translated to the field. In the Falcons’ six wins, Cousins has a 14-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. In the losses, the ratio flips to 3-to-11.
Remember, the Falcons lured Cousins in free agency with the notion that, surrounded by a bevy of offensive playmakers, the quarterback could be the difference that pushes the franchise over the hump to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.
No, it’s never just on the quarterback. By nature, as Robinson reminded, quarterbacks get too much credit and too much blame. But this team has not shown that it is strong enough to thrive without a A-game from the quarterback.
Said Morris: “Right now, we’re all here to support Kirk Cousins and to rally around him, so he can finish the job that he started.”
And there would be no better time for Cousins to demonstrate that he’s up to the task.
“He’s carried us through this season, when we were figuring things out on defense,” said Grady Jarrett, the two-time Bowl defensive tackle. “He’s had some really good games where he willed us to the end. He’s just having a hard time now. But…we still have five games left to go. Nothing saying that we can’t catch fire and he can’t catch fire and light it up.”
If not, there will certainly be some fire for the Falcons. As in crash and burn.
