In the aftermath of the Atlanta Falcons' 31-26 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said quarterback Kirk Cousins reminded him of Kansas City Chiefs signal caller Patrick Mahomes.
To be clear, Morris's comparison was a joke -- it came after Cousins had a 13-yard rush, his longest since Jan.1, 2023 and picked up a 4th and inches with a quarterback sneak.
And while Cousins may not be Mahomes, a two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl winner, Cousins has been himself -- and in Morris's eyes, exactly who the Falcons envisioned when they gave him a four-year, $180 million contract this spring.
"100%," Morris said in his press conference Monday. "That was probably his cleanest game as a quarterback as an Atlanta Falcon. I know it's hard to say when you threw for 500 yards one week, but you know how I feel about stats.
"But as far as being clean, throwing the ball exactly where it needs to go, being able to exhaust his progressions, feeling really comfortable, being decisive, doing all the different things that Kirk does well -- he actually ran the ball yesterday. I was really pleased with the quarterback's play yesterday."
Cousins went 23-of-29 for 276 yards, four touchdowns no interceptions against Tampa Bay, three weeks after he threw for a franchise-record 509 yards in a Thursday Night Football victory over the Buccaneers on Oct. 3.
In the second half of Sunday's win, Cousins went a perfect 9-for-9 for 52 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons scored points on five of their 10 drives, though the last two ended with a fumble and missed field goal.
Yet for as impressive as Cousins's day was on the field, what he did two days prior may have been even more validating for Atlanta's bank account.
Cousins addressed the team Friday afternoon, delivering a message centered around resiliency and the idea that tough times don't last, but tough people do.
The 36-year-old Cousins initially approached Morris with interest in giving a speech Tuesday, and Morris gave him the Friday slot. Cousins said he had things to say about the team's direction after a 20-point loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7.
Such leadership may go unnoticed in box scores, but it doesn't in the win/loss column -- nor in Atlanta's locker room.
"I think he's really given the team some of his experience he had over the years," Morris said. "And he's able to get up there and talk about where he's at in the season, some of the things you talk about with the messaging and what it looks like right now.
"And his ability to get up in front of his guys and talk about it in front of the coaches, the players, the whole organization, is just something for most of the organization, but also the guys we invite to team meetings, and those guys, you really feel that message, and you take that message to heart."
Morris added such messages resonate from the quarterback as opposed to the head coach, making it a positive asset in a player-led locker room.
It's also beneficial, Morris said, for the Falcons to have "sounding board" captains in safety Jessie Bates III, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and left tackle Jake Matthews, who spread the message and personify it around the team.
Creating unified messaging between the players starts with observation of character, Morris said. It's made much easier when the 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad has bought into winning football and the ideologies Morris and his staff are trying to teach.
Bates, Jarrett and Matthews were all under contract when Morris took over as head coach in January. Cousins was not. The Falcons had a glaring need at quarterback, where they received "deficient" play last season in the eyes of owner Arthur Blank.
So, Atlanta signed Cousins, and he continues to deliver -- as much off the field as on it.
“When Kirk Cousins was thought about and talked about being brought here, it really started with who he was as a person, what he is as a football player, and what else he's going to bring to us other than really good football play," Morris said. "And that's something you knew you would get."
Cousins has completed 68.3% of his passes for 2,106 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He ranks No. 3 in passing yards and No. 5 in touchdowns league-wide while placing 10th in quarterback rating at 61.2.
Atlanta's offense, led by first-year coordinator Zac Robinson, has become one of the NFL's better outfits.
The Falcons are No. 7 in total yards (371.6 yards per game) and No. 12 in scoring (24.3 points per game). Atlanta, after failing to score 30 points in a game last season, has eclipsed the threshold three times in its last four games.
Still, Cousins said the Falcons have lots to improve upon -- but they're 5-3 and sit atop the NFC South entering November, which is ultimately where they hoped to be.
And Cousins's play is a key reason why.
"You can see the confidence in our offense when he's playing that way and the style of play we want to play -- it's been the vision," Morris said. "We were lucky enough to go out there and sign him.”
