MINNEAPOLIS — Kirk Cousins entered the Atlanta Falcons locker room with his baseball cap pulled down and his eyes facing the floor. Minutes earlier, the veteran quarterback had a fourth straight game without a touchdown pass.
Despite the struggles, the Falcons will stick with Cousins as their starter, according to head coach Raheem Morris. Cousins has eight interceptions during Atlanta’s current four-game losing streak, with the latest loss coming to the Minnesota Vikings, 42-21, on Sunday at US Bank Stadium. Michael Penix Jr., the eighth overall pick in April’s NFL draft, has been sitting behind Cousins this season.
Cousins was 23-of-37 for 344 yards and two interceptions against his former team.
“Everything is always discussed when you go watch the tape and do all those type of things,” Morris said. “But Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. We’ll have the ability to go watch this tape just like we do every single week. Kurt played significantly better than he did the week before.”
The Falcons (6-7) have lost four straight games and are now in second place behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team Atlanta swept earlier in the season.
Cousins was coming off perhaps the worst start in his career in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He threw four interceptions, including a pick six and one late in the game in the end zone when the Falcons could have put points on the board in what ended up being a 17-13 loss. Cousins had never had back-to-back games without a touchdown pass since becoming an NFL starter until this skid.
On Sunday, Cousins was returning to Minnesota, where he played for six seasons before leaving in the offseason to sign a four-year, $180 million contract with Atlanta.
“Last week was a low bar, but I felt better today,” Cousins said in his postgame news conference. “Felt like myself.”
Even with the Falcons down three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Morris stuck with Cousins and the starters to finish out the game, rather than going to Penix Jr. Morris said that was “my decision.”
“I wanted him to go finish this deal out here in Minnesota, be able play the game, go out there and play the game like he wanted to play,” Morris said.
Cousins is the first quarterback to go four games in a single season without a touchdown and at least eight interceptions since Brett Favre in 2005, per ESPN Research. Cousins came into Week 14 leading the NFL in interceptions (13) and fumbles (12). But the Falcons coaching staff and his teammates are not giving up on him as their guy under center.
“Kirk’s been in this league for a long time, obviously,” said Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who had 92 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown Sunday. “Sometimes he goes through some stretches that aren’t as good as he wants it to be. But I have all the faith and confidence in him just because he’s been in the league.
“He understands what he needs to do to become great throughout the season, and I’m just here to back him up and have his back. And for all of us on the offense, I think we all think the same way.”
The Falcons had 496 total yards on offense, their second-highest total of the season. But they had 12 penalties for 127 yards, the most penalty yards by any team in a single game this season. They also turned the ball over three times, including a Ray Ray McCloud fumble in the fourth quarter down just one score, and only went 2-of-5 in scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
“Red zone is the biggest deal,” said wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who had 142 yards on six catches. “We got to go down there and score points, especially when they’re a powerful offense and they’re scoring points, as well.”
