The Atlanta Falcons defeated the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night – not exactly a tall task, to say the least – with little help from Kirk Cousins, who threw the ball just 17 times. Atlanta played conservatively, which is odd given the options at their disposal.
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed last offseason. Cousins was coming off a season-ending Achilles injury at the time, which made the contract an obvious risk. Still, he was the best quarterback available via free agency, and the Falcons were desperate. They were so desperate, in fact, that they drafted Cousins potential successor in Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington in the first round. This is where it gets juicy.
Falcons approach with Kirk Cousins is all wrong
The Falcons claimed heading into the season that Cousins is the long-term starter, while Penix Jr. is merely a succession plan, it's tough to see it that way. Cousins wasn't thrilled by the selection, but he's been a good teammate and mentor to Penix Jr. That's just the kind of person he is.
However, given the amount of investment in the quarterback position, it was odd to see the Falcons use such a conservative approach with (what ought to be) a fully-healed Cousins in Vegas. Sure, Cousins hasn't been elite this season, but if he's not the guy what better time to find out than the present?
Raheem Morris puts Kirk Cousins and Falcons on notice
Heck, if the Falcons prefer such a play-style, they ought to roll the dice with Penix Jr. ahead of schedule. After the win, Raheem Morris didn't mince words, saying he expects more from Cousins and the team to put their QB in a better position to succeed.
"We have to play better at the quarterback position," is not something Morris or the Falcons expected to say about their $180 million investment so early in his tenure, but here we are. What's more mind-boggling is that Cousins, at least on the surface, didn't even play that poorly. He was 11-for-17 for 112 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Those numbers won't win many games, non-Raiders division, but it's not exactly like he was given much of a chance to succeed.
Cousins will lead the Falcons to little more than a postseason berth, but it's never been more obvious that they don't trust him.