Raheem Morris assures that Kirk Cousins will remain starter despite struggles

Raheem Morris assures that Kirk Cousins will remain starter despite struggles

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had one of the worst performances of his career Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, tossing four interceptions without a single touchdown in the team’s 17-13 losing effort.

Head coach Raheem Morris assured that Cousins, who’s struggled for most of the year, would remain the team’s starter over rookie Michael Penix Jr. until further notice.

“[Kirk Cousins] has carried us,” Morris said, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “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’ four-interception performance marked only the second time in his career he’s thrown four picks in a single game; the only other time was Week 4 of the 2014 NFL Season–his third year–on Thursday night against the New York Giants, completing 19-of-33 for 257 yards and one touchdown.

The typically efficient Cousins also sported a 40.0 passer rating, the fifth-worst mark of his career and the worst since Week 2 of the 2020 season against the Indianapolis Colts, where he tossed three INTs without a single touchdown.

He currently leads the NFL in interceptions (13), having completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,052 yards and just 17 touchdowns, one fewer than he had last year in four more games. He’s only had three games where he’s thrown for over 250 yards and just four games where he’s thrown for multiple touchdowns.

Some of that may be a byproduct of scheme. But the 36-year-old, coming off a torn Achilles injury, hasn’t looked mobile or comfortable in the pocket for most of this season.

Atlanta, losers of three straight, still has Penix waiting in the wings. I don’t expect them to move away from their $180 million man quite yet, but I’m not completely ruling it out if he’s not getting the job done while they’re in the thick of this putrid NFC South chase.

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