Dirty Birds Dispatch: Can Kirk Cousins save the season?
With the season-ending injury to Michael Penix Jr., Kirk Cousins is back in control.
Can he save the season?
We think we know the answer, but we don’t want to steal your joy this morning.
WHERE’S THAT 6-3 MAGIC?
At 3-7, the Falcons need to go on a roll to salvage the season.
Cousins had the Falcons looking like legit contenders last season as they hopped out to a 6-3 lead. Then he was whacked in the New Orleans game and tried to keep playing with elbow and shoulder injuries.
After sitting on the bench for most of the season, he’ll return to the starting lineup when the Falcons play the Saints (2-8) at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Caesars Superdome.
Here’s Cousins on Penix, his play and the outlook for the offense.
🗣️ On Penix’s injury: “Got a good opportunity at the Saints this week, but wanted to just acknowledge how tough the injury is for Michael. My heart breaks for him. He’s someone who has handled adversity so well through his football journey, and unfortunately, he’s having to do it again. I’m very confident he has a lot of good football ahead of him. Probably more good football ahead of him than behind him, for sure. So, he has a lot to look forward to.”
- Penix’s season over before Falcons know if he’s the answer
- Cousins or what? A look at QB options for 2026
🗣️ On tailoring the offense to his play: “I think we’ll try to have a good plan that we’re all comfortable with. Feel like can help us kind of put our best foot forward offensively. So much of it is week to week in terms of what do you feel is the best way to attack that defense that week.”
🗣️ On stacking plays to be consistent: “I think it’s you’d like to avoid penalties. Even on some of those drives that we had (against the Panthers), we overcame penalties. So, when you have the penalty, trying to overcome them. It’s the challenge of all 11 of us executing at our absolute best, play in and play out, and stringing it together. When you do that, you tend to come away with points. When you don’t, you tend to be leaving some points out there. So, that’s always a challenge.”
🗣️ On the emotional state of the offense: “It was tough on Monday. I didn’t know. I actually thought Mike might be good to go this week because he was so tough coming back from the first time. So, when you found out that it wasn’t going to be something he could just come back from and practice on Wednesday, it was like, Awwww. But I do think there’s a lot of resilient people in a locker room. A lot of guys who just have positive attitudes.”
COACH TALKS COUSINS
Falcons coach Raheem Morris is hopeful that Cousins can get on a roll. He was dejected on Monday when talking to media. Morris was back to his ultra-positive and upbeat self on Wednesday.
“You know, I just think he started the season for us last year, didn’t start off as well, right?,” Morris said. “Remember we played Pittsburgh, kind of struggled a little bit. We were able to go out there and be competitive. Once he got rolling, we were able to get some really good games off to one of the career-best games that we had in Atlanta history. So like, we just gotta find a way to get him back to those moments and those things.”
Morris also believes the team is confident that Cousins will perform well.
“There’s 100% no doubt about that,” Morris said. “It was the whole purpose of — I know it was a whole rush to move on and do all these other different things. But when you’re talking about a great human, you’re talking about a guy you know can play, a guy that you got a lot of belief in, a guy that led us to a 6-3 record last year.”
AK VS. LONDON, HOOPS EDITION
Falcons outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie wants to play wide receiver Drake London one-on-one in basketball. London played basketball at USC. As a senior at Moorpark High School he averaged 29.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
“It’s been four years since me and Drake got here,” Ebiketie said. “He was supposed to play me one-on-one in basketball. Hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully, this offseason …. he’s ducking me and I want to call him out today.”
Ebiketie said he would travel for the game.
“We are still in season, but offseason I’ll go to Cali if I have to,” Ebiketie said. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
But London averaged 29.2 points a game and played at USC.
“I was the dude, too, in high school,” Ebiketie said. “I was an overall, all-around player. I’m like a J.R. Smith, whenever I’m hot … I can light it up. I’m flying to Cali. I’ll pay for my own ticket and play him one-on-one."
London was told of Ebiketie’s plans.
“It’s been four years,” London said.
WHERE TO WATCH (AND LISTEN)
This will be the teams’ 112th meeting. The Saints lead the regular-season series 56-55. The Falcons won the only playoff meeting back in 1991.
The teams split the series last season. The Falcons won at home 26-24 on Sept. 29, and the Saints beat the Falcons 20-17 on Nov. 10. It was the game where Kirk Cousins suffered a shoulder injury that derailed the season.
Saints first-year coach Kellen Moore is new to the rivalry.
“Definitely one that we’ve talked a lot about. This will be my first experience,” Moore told the New Orleans media on Monday. “I’m excited about this opportunity. We know the importance of — certainly your division games, certainly with these guys, the history of this game.”
Kickoff arrives at 4:25 p.m. EST.
📺 On TV: Fox
- Play by play: Adam Amin
- Analyst: Drew Brees
- Sideline: Kristina Pink
📻 On local radio: 92.9 The Game
- Play-by-play: Wes Durham
- Analyst: Dave Archer
📡 On national radio: Sports USA
- Play-by-play: Josh Appel
- Analyst: Brandon Noble
ULBRICH ON DEABLO’S RETURN
Linebacker Divine Deablo returned to practice on Wednesday and had a cast on his left forearm.
“He looked good,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “He’s been so diligent in his time off really staying up to date with what we’ve done defensively, with how we are growing and evolving. Yeah, it was like he hasn’t missed a beat.”
But can he play with that bulky cast.
“We’ll see,” Ulbrich said. “It’s one of those things that, you know, I was fortunate enough to play with a guy named (Pro Football Hall of Famer) Patrick Willis, who played with that multiple times in like multiple years. It never slowed him down. Common sense says he’s going to struggle maybe tackling or catching the ball or wrapping up. But it was not the case for him.
“Divine is fortunate in the fact that he has tremendous length. A lot of times that length can help you overcome something like a club.”
TALE OF THE TAPE
Here’s a closer statistical look at the Falcons-Saints matchup, with league rankings in parentheses.
FALCONS — SAINTS
19.5 (27 rank) — Points/Game — 15.5 (30)
332.5 (16) — Total Yards/Game — 297.2 (26)
119.9 (13) — Rush Yards/Game — 92.8 (28)
212.6 (18) — Pass Yards/Game — 204.4 (20)
28:59 (23) — Time of Possession — 27:18 (31)
23.9 (19) — Opponent Points/Game — 25.0 (21)
326.5 (16) — Opponent Total Yards/Game — 317.5 (10)
138.5 (28) — Opponent Rush Yards/Game — 123.8 (21)
188.0 (6) — Opponent Pass Yards/Game — 193.7 (9)
+4 (9) — Turnover Margin — -3 (19)
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
The bosses are watching.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Dirty Bird Dispatch. Questions? Suggestions? Contact us at dledbetter@ajc.com. Follow @DorlandoAJC on X, too.
See you next week.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
