Falcons teammates defend Kirk Cousins after nightmare performance vs. Chargers

The Atlanta Falcons fell to 6-6 on the season via a 17-13 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon that featured Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins throwing four interceptions and zero touchdown passes. 

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris insisted after that defeat he won’t replace Cousins in the lineup with rookie Michael Penix Jr. anytime soon, and multiple teammates came to Cousins’ defense despite his recent struggles. 

“I love Kirk,” wide receiver Drake London said, as shared by the D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’s the ultimate leader. He’s the ultimate quarterback. The best quarterback that I’ve played with. So, I’m going to keep my faith in him 110 percent every week, week-in, week-out that he’s playing. I’m just going to trust him. That’s what we all do. That’s what we’ll continue to do. Because if you take those four (interceptions) away, he really was having a lights-out game.” 

The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed this past offseason, and he guided the club to a 6-3 record before it suffered three consecutive defeats. Cousins tossed six interceptions with no touchdowns over those losses, and it was suggested before the Los Angeles game that Atlanta could move on from the 36-year-old this coming offseason if he fails to lead the team to a playoff berth. 

“Everybody who’s played football and especially at this level has had games like that,” London added, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “…So, it’s not all on Kirk. It can never be all on Kirk. We have to run the right routes. We have to be detailed, and we have to execute our plays.”

According to ESPN stats, Cousins began Monday ranked 20th in the NFL with a 54.7 adjusted QBR for the campaign. No player has thrown more interceptions than Cousins (13) this season. 

While it’s hardly a stretch to say those running the Falcons probably expected better play from Cousins during the second half of his first season with the organization, guard Chris Lindstrom made it known that he still believes in the veteran signal-caller. 

“Kirk is fantastic,” Lindstrom said. “We love him and he’s the leader of this team. He drives us every single day. He is the guy who brings energy every single day. He’s there for us. He’s a huge reason why we are here in this spot, first in the division. We hit a bump in a road, but it’s not going to stop us from going forward.”

First-place Atlanta next plays at the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings, Cousins’ former team, on Sunday. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Falcons as five-point underdogs for that matchup.