It's going to be an emotional game on Sunday afternoon when Kirk Cousins returns to U.S. Bank Stadium with the Atlanta Falcons to take on the Minnesota Vikings.
Not only is Cousins going to be facing the Vikings for the first time since leaving the franchise after the 2023 season, he's going through a little bit of a slump himself.
This season, Cousins has the most turnover-worthy plays per Pro Football Focus with 21 on the season and his touchdown: interception ratio is one of the worst of his career at 17:13. Just last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, Cousins threw four interceptions and has started to have some in the Falcons sphere talking about playing Michael Penix Jr. whom the team selected at eighth overall in April's NFL Draft.
Chris Long talks about Kirk Cousins' status
Would Cousins be playing if it wasn't against his former team the Vikings? That's something that former Super Bowl champion Chris Long discussed on his podcast on Friday
"If they weren't playing the Vikings who are going to bring the house and happen to be Kirk's old team, I don't know if Kirk gets a chance to run out of the tunnel this weekend as the starting quarterback. I don't think it's the week to make the turn to Michael Penix (Jr.), but if Kirk does not play well, and he continues to play the way he's played the past month of the season. If you believe it's not bad for Penix's development you put him in next two games (Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants), which is a good soft landing spot for a rookie quarterback.
"He can't step in the throws. You know, when you have people around your feet and you can't, he can't adjust his platform, so he's kind of a lawn deer back there. We used to call guys a good move, you know? I think this is a tough matchup for them."
It's an interesting discussion in regard to Cousins.
You can tell that his Achilles injury suffered last October has really hindered his movement skills. The Falcons have also used over 40% less play-action this season, which is Cousins' bread and butter as a passer.
If he is that hindered by the injury, another poor performance could end up being the end for Cousins as the starting quarterback, especially since, as Long describes, he struggles to step into throws.
How Cousins plays on Sunday will be the main thing that everyone keeps an eye on this Sunday afternoon.
You can catch the full show here.
