Raheem Morris is sticking with Kirk Cousins.
The Atlanta Falcons have slowly seen their season start to slip away over the last few weeks. After holding a commanding lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South for much of this season, the Falcons have lost four consecutive games and now trail the Buccaneers by one game.
A big part of that steep decline has been the drop-off in play from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins has played very poorly over the last four games, throwing zero touchdowns and eight interceptions in that span. In last Sunday's loss to the Chargers, Cousins threw four picks including a pick-six that essentially decided the game. On Sunday, Cousins threw two more interceptions in a 42-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
After the game, head coach Raheem Morris said that he is sticking with Cousins as the starting quarterback, according to Falcons senior editor Will McFadden.
“Kirk Cousins is our quarterback,” Morris said, per McFadden.
Morris also added that there was no consideration of putting Michael Penix Jr., who the Falcons selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, into the game against Minnesota.
This game had to mean a little extra to Cousins considering it was his first game back in Minnesota since his long tenure with the Vikings ended after last season. Unfortunately for Cousins, he has been unable to keep the good football that he was playing during the middle part of the season going in the later months, and the Falcons are suffering as a result.
Whether the Falcons decide to go to Penix at some point or not, they now have some ground to make up in the division race if they want to make the playoffs this season. They do have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buccaneers from their two wins earlier this season, but Tampa Bay has a significantly easier schedule down the stretch and the Falcons are now one game behind. Even if Morris and company are able to get things back on track this season, they will likely need some help down the stretch to reach the postseason.
