The Falcons easily defeated the lowly Raiders on Monday Night Football, and Kirk Cousins' battle is nearing a boiling point.
Cousins, 36, went 11-of-17 for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 15-9 win, and head coach Raheem Morris scolded the veteran after the game.
“He's got to play better and obviously he's got to go back and look at everything,” Falcons' first-year head coach said. told reporters. “But he wants to play better. He has to play better. We have to find a way to make him play better.”
Cousins has thrown seven interceptions in the last three games, second most in the NFL behind Jameis Winston (eight), who the Browns benched on Sunday.
Despite his harsh assessment of the current starting quarterback, Morris never said Cousins was in danger of losing his job to rookie Michael Penix Jr. Atlanta selected him 8th overall out of Washington in this year's NFL Draft.
Asked if Penix would be considered to start against the Giants in Week 16, Morris offered a cryptic answer.
“We have everyone on our roster for a reason. We have a lot of things to improve on.” morris said. “Those things will always be discussed, that's the nature of the beast in football. Our mentality is to find a way to win the next game.”
Cousins has had the NFL's sixth-worst quarterback rating since Week 8 and leads the NFL in interceptions thrown.
Cousins is in the first year of a four-year, $180 million contract that includes $100 million guaranteed.
He echoed Morris' comments after Monday's game.
“I thought we needed to play better the last few weeks,” Cousins said. “Raheem says that, but it’s stating the obvious and every week I’m going to go through my process and go out there and play the best I can, so this week is no different. ”
The decision to bench Cousins is a complicated one, as it leaves the Buccaneers one game behind in the NFC South and puts Penix, who owns the tiebreaker, into playoff contention.
In theory, Atlanta could part with the second half of the contract after two years, thanks to the structure of the deal.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport previously reported that Falcons leaders believe Cousins can bounce back from his lackluster performance, but Morris' latest comments suggest their patience may be running thin. is.
“They believe he'll bounce back, they believe he's resilient,” Rapoport said of the Falcons and Cousins. “They want to rally around Cousins.”
Atlanta welcomed Cousins into the 2024 season with a shot at the Super Bowl, but he hasn't looked the same since returning from a torn Achilles tendon suffered with the Vikings last year.
