FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When the questions first began after the Falcons' loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13, the conviction in Kirk Cousins did not waver.
"That guy has carried us," head coach Raheem Morris said at that time. "That guy has got us to the point where we're 6-6 and we're first place in the division. Still 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, and there's no better man than (No.) 18 to go do that for us."
Two games later, Cousins' play had become detrimental to the team's mission of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2017. His role as Atlanta's starting quarterback untenable.
On Tuesday evening, following a 15-9 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders that should not have been as close as the final score reflected, the Falcons made the decision to name rookie Michael Penix Jr. their starting quarterback.
"We wanted to play better at quarterback, and we felt like we got a chance to play a little bit better," Morris said Wednesday afternoon. "And if we can go out there and play better at quarterback, who knows what can happen?"
It was a move that just a few weeks prior felt like a remote possibility. However, as the offense continued to struggle, particularly through the air, it became a necessity.
In the month of October, Cousins was red-hot. He threw for 1,242 yards with 10 touchdown passes, second- and third-most among all NFL quarterbacks, respectively. His passer rating of 109 was the eighth highest in a single month with at least three starts of Cousins' 10 seasons as a full-time starter.
He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week shortly after closing out October with a four-touchdown performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — his second time that month.
In the seven weeks that followed, Cousins went from throwing four touchdowns against the Bucs to tossing four interceptions against the Chargers, which became a microcosm of his decline. After the team dropped four of their last five games in the last month, the Falcons fell a game behind the Buccaneers in the NFC South standings.
"There's a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me. Unfortunately, I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough," Cousins said during his press conference Wednesday.
Poor performances against the Chargers, Broncos and Vikings — three of the NFL's top defenses — could be understood, if not forgiven. His performance against the Raiders could not, and ultimately led to the current situation.
Turnovers have been a constant for Cousins during the second half of the season. He leads the NFL with 16 interceptions through 15 weeks. Nine of those have come during the Falcons' last five games. Cousins' 13 fumbles this season are also the most in the league, although he has only lost two of them.
"I would agree with (Morris), it probably ultimately was the turnovers," Cousins said. "That's such a key thing in winning and losing in the NFL."
Now in a backup role for the first time since the 2014 season, Cousins said he would be in Penix's corner and "try to help him in any way" he can. The two quarterbacks spoke on the phone Tuesday night after Morris informed Cousins they would be moving forward with Penix.
Cousins made the phone call in part because he likes to address the elephants in the room. The two have maintained a close working relationship throughout the season, attending meetings and discussing every aspect of the position together.
The dynamic in that relationship has now shifted, and the starting role has passed to Atlanta's first-round rookie. Cousins' future role with the Falcons is cloudy for the moment, but he made his short-term intentions clear.
"You roll with it and now you still get ready, one play away kind of thing," Cousins said. "You support Mike, and just try to help our team try to be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs. That's what it's all about, so that's my focus."
