MINNEAPOLIS – On the Falcons sideline, Kirk Cousins put his hands on his knees, slumped over. He plopped himself on the bench.
He had just thrown his second interception of the game, a fourth-quarter turnover that squeezed out most of the remaining hope that his team had of pulling out a desperately needed road win.
Elbows on his knees and hands clasped, he stared at the ground.
It said it all.
“Certainly a disappointing day (Sunday),” Cousins said.
The Falcons were supposed to lose to Minnesota and they did not disappoint, getting routed 42-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium for their fourth consecutive loss to drop to 6-7. But the Cousins bounce back, assured by coaches and teammates, was nowhere to be seen, either.
In his anticipated return to the stadium where he had starred for the past six seasons, Cousins played a fourth consecutive game without a touchdown pass, threw two more interceptions and was easily outplayed by Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, the journeyman who replaced Cousins in Minnesota for a fraction of the money that Cousins is receiving from the Falcons.
The time has arrived, if it hadn’t already, for the Falcons to ask themselves uncomfortable questions, starting with “Should we start Michael Penix Jr.?”
But, more broadly, “What made general manager Terry Fontenot, with coach Raheem Morris’ encouragement, think Cousins was worth the biggest contract in franchise history?”
And, “Is the direction of the franchise with Morris any more promising than it was with Arthur Smith?”
Cousins wasn’t the detriment to the Falcons’ chances that he was last Sunday, when he threw a career-high four interceptions in a 17-13 home loss to the Chargers, which is the definition of damning with faint praise.
“Last week was a low bar,” Cousins joked glumly. “But I felt better (Sunday). I felt more like myself.”
Cousins was 23-for-37 for 344 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He did make some high-level throws, like a 49-yard completion that he let rip down the sideline to wide receiver Darnell Mooney late in the first half.
But he also had at least three more passes that could have been intercepted and he couldn’t help the offense do what it needed to do most – score touchdowns in the red zone. The Falcons scored two touchdowns in five red-zone trips, not enough on the road against one of the top teams in the league.
And the two interceptions can’t be ignored. He now has zero touchdown passes and eight interceptions in the past four games. The first, early in the second quarter in Vikings territory, was of the sort that a veteran quarterback just can’t make, a downfield throw in which safety Joshua Metellus seemed more the target than receiver Drake London.
Cousins pump faked in an apparent attempt to draw Metellus away from London, but it didn’t work.
“He definitely was,” Metellus said. “I was in the spot and I was surprised he still threw the ball knowing I was there. I think he thought I was probably going to keep widening out on that concept, but he threw it right to me and I was just happy to make a play.”
The last time a quarterback was 0/8 or worse in touchdown/interception ratio over a four-game span was 2006, according to Stathead data. If you think this is merely a bump in the road, you must live in DeKalb County.
Ultimately, Cousins wasn’t what the Falcons expected in signing him to a contract with $100 million guaranteed – a difference maker who will help end the franchise’s six-year playoff drought.
And that is why Morris didn’t give Cousins the unequivocal endorsement about his spot in the starting lineup that he did after the loss to the Chargers.
Morris on Sunday: “Everything’s always discussed when you go watch the tape and do all those types of things. But Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. … We’ll do whatever’s best to win football games and Kirk’s definitely a part of that.”
Compare that to last week: “We don’t have any issues with that, man. I don’t think that’s going to be the issue around here. That guy has carried us. … It’s up to us to bounce back and find a way to win football games, and there’s no better man than [No.] 18 to go do that for us.”
Morris was also asked if he had considered sitting Cousins down in favor of Penix during Sunday’s game. He said “Not today” as it was Cousins’ return to Minneapolis. You could interpret that as “In any other stadium, yes, I would have.”
The season – and Cousins’ drop in play – has reached that point where what would have been unthinkable a month ago is now on the table. Cousins’ play has brought Morris to the point where he has to strongly consider sitting down the franchise quarterback.
And this really goes beyond Cousins. It’s not like he’s not trying. Fontenot and Morris went all in on a 35-year-old quarterback (now 36) coming off a torn Achilles and it looks a lot like it’s backfiring.
And that’s hardly the only problem. The secondary got torched for five touchdown passes by Darnold, his career high. While the Falcons appeared to get hosed on some holding calls, they still drew 12 penalties to the Vikings’ six.
After the Vikings took a 28-21 lead with 12:59 to play in the fourth quarter, kickoff returner Ray-Ray McCloud gave the ball away deep in the Falcons end, leading to another Minnesota touchdown and a 35-21 lead.
A stellar effort by running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier (a combined 155 rushing yards) and the pass rush (four sacks after racking up five last week) went for naught.
Giving Penix a chance probably isn’t going to save the season on its own. But the Falcons are now 6-7, have given up first place to Tampa Bay and aren’t getting enough from Cousins. It would be difficult, awkward and an admission of $100 million poorly spent.
But in this increasingly haywire season, it might be the best path forward.
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