When Kirk Cousins’ final pass of the game flew over the head of tight end Kyle Pitts and ended up in the back of the end zone, all he could do was shake his head and slowly walk off the field.
Not only were his Atlanta Falcons struggling, but his return to Minneapolis was also spoiled.
Cousins returned to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the team he played for the previous six seasons. However, instead of impressing his old fans, he continued a career-worst streak as Minnesota intercepted him twice and prevented him from throwing any touchdown passes in a 42-21 win.
This was the Falcons’ fourth consecutive loss, dropping them out of a first-place tie with Tampa Bay in the NFC South.
During this stretch, Cousins has thrown eight interceptions and no touchdown passes. According to Sportradar, he’s the sixth quarterback in the past 20 seasons to have a streak of four straight games with at least one interception and no touchdown passes.
Others with similar streaks include Trace McSorley (2022), Curtis Painter (2011), Ken Dorsey (2008), Brett Favre (2005), and Alex Smith (2005).
“I’d love to be playing with a lot more production,” Cousins said, staying on the field to greet his former teammates and coaches after the game. “It’s been disappointing the last four weeks to not have a touchdown pass. I’d like that to be different.”
Though the game wasn’t a complete disaster for Cousins, he completed 23 of 37 passes for 344 yards, his second-highest yard total of the season. However, he threw two interceptions. The first came with the game tied 7-7 late in the first quarter, when safety Josh Metellus intercepted a short pass near midfield.
The second interception came when the Falcons were trying to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, down by 14 points. Cousins overthrew a pass that cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. caught with one hand near the goal line.
“Certainly the first turnover is one that I can correct. I can throw it away. … I don’t need to force the ball into that window,” Cousins said. “The second one was tough. I would’ve liked to have put the ball more on the inside. They brought a lot of pressure and I thought Byron Murphy made a good play.”
With calls for rookie first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. to start growing louder, Falcons coach Raheem Morris said he has no plans to bench Cousins.
“Everything is always discussed when you go watch the tape and do those type of things,” Morris said. “But Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. … We’ll do whatever is best to go win football games and Kirk is definitely a part of that.”
Cousins allowed himself a light-hearted moment after hearing that Morris said he thought his quarterback played better than he did the previous week when he tied a career high with four interceptions in a 17-13 loss to the Chargers.
“Last week was a low bar,” Cousins said with a laugh. “But I felt better today. I felt more like myself.”
He also said he wasn’t surprised by the loud boos that he and his teammates heard when they came out of the tunnel before the game.
“It’s a great fan base and I expected them to make it hostile, and they did a good job of that,” Cousins said.
Now that his return to Minnesota is behind him, Cousins and the Falcons can focus on the remaining games, starting with a trip to Las Vegas next week and another homecoming game for Cousins at Washington on December 29.
“It’s never easy,” Cousins said. “In pro football, you get tested, and we’re there right now. But win or lose, you have to apply the same processes each week and get better. Whether you win or lose, you’ve got to find a way to continuously improve.”
