The Atlanta Falcons enter Week 14 in first place in the NFC South, but are clinging to that position after dropping three straight games. At 6-6, they now lead the division solely based on the head-to-head tiebreaker they own over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are also .500 on the year entering Sunday's action. Those recent struggles, which include a four-interception performance in last week's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers by Kirk Cousins, have allowed the slight murmurings of a quarterback change to be bandied about.
While some may speculate about an upheaval at quarterback that would send Cousins to the bench and elevate first-round rookie Michael Penix Jr. into the limelight, it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. As The Athletic reports, no internal discussions are happening about making a possible switch at quarterback.
This jives with what head coach Raheem Morris told reporters last Sunday, saying the team has no intention of benching Cousins.
"That's not going to be the issue around here," Morris said at the time, via ESPN. "That guy [Cousins] has carried us. That guy has got us to the point where we are 6-6 and in first place in the division. We've got everything in front of us despite what happened today. It's up to us to bounce back and find a way to win football games. There isn't a better man than [Cousins] to go do that for us."
Cousins, who'll be facing the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday for the first time since leaving the organization last offseason, has thrown 13 interceptions this season, which is the most in the NFL entering Week 14. Over this three-game losing streak, the veteran quarterback has zero passing touchdowns and six interceptions, and his numbers across the board has dipped during this stretch.
| Cousins | First nine games | Last three games |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 6-3 | 0-3 |
Completion % | 69% | 63% |
TD-INT | 17-7 | 0-6 |
Passer rating | 101.9 | 59.1 |
Cousins has also benefited from beating up on bad opponents this season. He is 5-1 against teams either .500 or below and 1-5 against above .500 clubs.
This offseason, the 36-year-old signed a four-year, $180 million deal with Atlanta. While he was looked to be the starter going forward, the Falcons did shock the league when they selected Penix with the No. 8 overall pick. Given that investment, the team will, at some point, want to see what they have in the young quarterback, but even amid these struggles from Cousins, this latest report suggests we're still a ways away from that happening.
