Can Falcons Find Its Offensive Groove With Kirk Cousins?

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons are evolving on offense with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. With Michael Penix Jr. set to miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, they do not have much of a choice. 

At 4-8 with five games left to play this season, the Falcons find themselves in an unenviable position. They would need to win out in order to avoid an eighth-straight losing season, but their future at quarterback is also tenuous at best. 

They have been plagued by some inconsistency on offense all season, and Cousins will look to stabilize what has been a rocking ship over the coming weeks. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Monday that he is starting to develop that familiar cadence with Cousins back as the full-time starter. 

“Getting him back out there and making him comfortable was the first step,” Morris said Monday. “I think that happened with a nice win out in New Orleans, and I think this week, going out there and getting him comfortable in the things that we are going to do.” 

Against the Jets in Week 13, the Falcons were able to find a little bit of success before coming up short in the end, but the growth became apparent for Cousins in the second half of that game. After the sluggish start, the passing offense found some rhythm, and he threw for 148 yards in the second half of that game. 

In terms of EPA/play, Cousins’ growth from game to game was quite clear. Despite the winning effort against the Saints, he was rather poor in this department – -0.21/play would quantify as the fifth-worst passing day of the season. Against the Jets, that number jumped to +0.08 – the fourth-best passing day of the season. 

Not overwhelming by any means, but it is growth.  

Cousins was less sure of any elevations or changes that have been made, citing a rather small sample size of games.

“I think it's so week to week as to how we need to attack the defense,” he said. “With such a small sample size of only two games, I don’t know that it felt more like this is the best way to attack the Jets, this is the best way to attack the Saints. So, you kind of look at it that way. I think if we had a bigger sample size, I could answer that question a little better. But, you know, we'll kind of see where it goes from here.”

Sunday will be another opportunity for him to build on that. 

Cousins will need to improve his effectiveness downfield from that game. The veteran completed 20-of-24 passes under 10 air yards for 215 yards and a touchdown, but that total dropped to just 1-of-7 for 19 yards on throws beyond 10 yards. 

With the Seattle Seahawks allowing a league-low 49.4 passer rating on downfield passes this season, intercepting 11 of such passes (second-most in the NFL), the Falcons may be forced to settle for their underneath approach. It just becomes crucial that they do not fall behind on the scoreboard, forcing them to play catch-up. 

“Kirk's playing good ball,” offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “I think all of us collectively, we've played some good football, but the results aren't – we're not winning games, and that's all that matters.”

They will hope to put together a full effort in Week 14 against a 9-3 Seahawks team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the continued growth of Cousins will likely be a major determining factor in that.