FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons landed back in Georgia a little after 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday, returning from a prime-time Monday Night Football victory against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
About 12 hours later, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris held his weekly day-after press conference virtually. The status of Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback was questioned, as it has been each week since the Falcons lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 1 after Atlanta's Week 12 bye.
For the first time, Morris either could not or would not confirm Cousins will continue to be the starter for Atlanta.
"I think we got to go through the process," Morris said. "I think you guys are catching me at a different moment of time than we've normally been. We've had more time. We've had more time to think about all the things that we've had happen.
"We're at the process right now. We're still looking into those things and doing the things that we do as an organization just in general. So, having a late game yesterday, going into the short week, doing some of the things that you have now is a different timeframe than you normally talk to me."
The Falcons defeated the Raiders, 15-9, to snap their four-game losing streak.
Cousins completed 11 or his 17 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. The passing touchdown — a 30-yarder to wide receiver Drake London in the first quarter — marked his first since the third quarter of the Nov. 3 win against the Dallas Cowboys; 17 quarters of work had passed. On Monday night, he was intercepted once, which is his fifth consecutive game with a pick.
Atlanta netted out to 93 yards passing in Las Vegas for the Falcons' lowest single-game total. It was the first time the Falcons fell below 100 yards passing in a single contest this season.
"We didn't play particularly well at the quarterback position," Morris said. "We didn't play well (Monday) at that spot. I like to be open and honest about those things. It's always going to be those questions marks. It's always going to be those question marks when it comes to head coach, when it comes to the quarterback. And you got to be really transparent about it. We got to play better. I think that's the thing that's got to be put out there, that we got to play better, and that's the thing that's got to be addressed. This thing's got to happen in order for us to find ways to win versus our next opponent, which is the New York Giants."
The Falcons are 7-7 entering Week 16 as the host to the Giants on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (1 p.m. ET, FOX).
Atlanta is one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South race. Because the Falcons swept the Buccaneers already this season, though, Atlanta holds the tiebreaker, which means the Falcons just need to match the Buccaneers' record at the end of the regular season to clinch the division and guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs.
Since the Falcons are no longer in control of the NFC South, like they were until their Dec. 8 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, there's a sense of urgency in Atlanta, a must-win mentality that hasn't been shied away from.
With the stakes so high, that's also why Cousins' status as the starting quarterback has been questioned as of late. He has thrown a league-high 16 interceptions — nine of which came in the last five games, with only one touchdown and one win in that same span. Meanwhile, the Falcons do have another option waiting in the wing with their first-round draft pick, Michael Penix Jr.
The plan, however, was not to start Penix as a rookie. The plan was for him to develop behind Cousins.
"We talked about bringing in Kirk, giving us an immediate chance to win, and then we talked about going out and finding a young quarterback that's going to take us to the future," Morris said. "Because we didn't want to have that gap between Matt Ryan and then to the next person that we turned it over to, who happened to be Kirk. Didn't want to have that gap again. That was always the things you want to think about.
"So, it's just the initial plan in how you want to go about your business and how you want things to happen. You could never say there's a downfall to turning it over to somebody that you put a lot of investment into, somebody that you brought in here, somebody that you've done some things with, somebody that's done nothing but the right things since they've been here. I never want to pin this thing versus Penix and why you don't want to do something like that. Just being really smart and cautious about how we go about our business."
Whether Morris is open to altering the plan remains to be determined.
"You got to win," Morris. "We're going to do whatever's best for us to win as many games we can win this season. That's just our job. I know you're pretty anxious. I know a bunch of people are. But it's up to me to remain steadfast and make the best decision for us to find out how do we win the next football game."
