There have been months of anticipation for the Kirk Cousins era in Atlanta. It fizzled on his first Sunday with the Falcons.
Cousins is supposed to be the guy who turns them from losers into winners. But the new offense with the proven veteran quarterback looked a lot like the old offense with the young QB the Falcons sent away. Cousins threw two interceptions and took the blame for a lost fumble. He needed 26 pass attempts to squeeze out 155 yards and tallied just one touchdown.
The Falcons lost a game in which their QB wasn’t good enough, just like they did with Desmond Ridder. This wasn’t what the Falcons were paying for when they signed Cousins to a contract with $100 million guaranteed.
“Kirk, he knows he has to play better, we know he has to play better,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said after the 18-10 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “I look forward to him doing that. He’s been in the league a long time. I look for him to bounce back from a rough game, a rough outing. I’m not overly concerned with that.”
Cousins hadn’t played since suffering a season-ending Achilles injury with the Vikings in October. Cousins and the other Falcons starters didn’t play any exhibition games. Morris rejected that as a possible explanation for disorganized, sloppy performance of his team’s offense.
Cousins lobbied to play an exhibition game but said “it’s hard to say” whether not doing go was a factor in his poor performance.
“There is never any excuse,” Cousins said. “You’ve got to be ready when your number is called, regardless.”
Cousins did not look ready. His first pass was nearly a pick-six. Lucky for Cousins, Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson dropped it. That drive ended with a field goal. The next Falcons drive ended with an interception by Cousins. He threw another pick when the Falcons had a chance to drive for a go-ahead TD with three minutes to play.
Perhaps Cousins wasn’t comfortable in his first game after the first major injury of his career. Cousins said he’d have to watch the game film to be sure, but he noted that there were times when he stood tall in the pocket and worked through his progressions
“Other times I was trying to play fast and didn’t get the outcome I wanted,” Cousins said.
The Falcons scored a touchdown on their final possession before halftime. It took some luck. On the third play, Cousins was hit as he passed and the ball popped high in the air. The ball came down to Ray-Ray McCloud, who caught it for his a 20-yard gain, the Falcons’ longest play of the game. The drive ended with Cousins’ 12-yard TD pass to Kyle Pitts.
The Falcons threatened to score on their first drive after halftime. A 28-yard punt return by Avery Williams and four consecutive runs by Bijan Robinson gave them a first down at Pittsburgh’s 32. Noise from the home fans drowned out the many visitor supporters in the building. A touchdown and point-after would put the Falcons ahead by eight points.
They ruined the momentum with a silly error. Cousins signaled for tight end Ross Dwelly to motion from the left side of the formation to the right. Drew Dalman’s snap hit Dwelley and rolled on the ground. Steelers defender TJ Watt pounced on the ball.
“The timing was off,” Cousins said. “It’s my fault.”
Even after all their offensive foibles the Falcons still had a prime chance to beat the Steelers, who also stubbed their toes for much of the day. The Falcons trailed 15-10 when they started at their 40-yard line with 3:20 to go. Bijan Robinson ran for 13 yards on first down. The Falcons were in business.
Then came another back-breaking error by Cousins. There wasn’t much room for him to step into the throw because the pocket was quickly collapsing like it had all day. Cousins tried to do it, anyway, and banged into defenders as he delivered a pass intended for McCloud.
This time, Jackson didn’t blow an easy chance for an interception. He returned it 49 yards to the 8-yard line. That left the Steelers in range to kick the field goal that put the Falcons away.
“I just couldn’t get anything on the ball,” Cousins said of the interception. “I’ll go back and watch it and be critical and say maybe you eat it or progress (to a different target) or ‘dirt’ it or do whatever you’ve got to do to avoid the critical error.”
Cousins was already saying that about his first interception. He looked to his left, back to his right and back to his left again. By then Pittsburgh’s fierce pass rush, led by Watt, got to Cousins.
Cousins said he tried throwing the ball away, but it was closer to Steelers safety DeShon Elliott than the ground.
“In hindsight, throw it away lower or take the sack, whatever you’ve got to do to avoid the outcome,” Cousins said.
We heard those kinds of regrets frequently from the Falcons QB last season. Coach Arthur Smith thought Ridder was ready, and he wasn’t. The Falcons hired Morris to replace Smith. To upgrade at quarterback, they signed the top free agent on the market.
Things are supposed to be different for the Falcons this season because they have Cousins. Yet the offense looked much the same in his debut.
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