Opposition Intell: Falcons' Kirk Cousins Arrives With Questions Surrounding His Health

The veteran QB did not look like himself in Week 1 against Pittsburgh.

Sep 8, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA - Veteran Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins did not look like himself during Atlanta's 18-10 Week 1 loss to Pittsburgh after returning from an Achilles tear suffered in Week 8 of the 2023 season when Cousins was in the midst of a career season with Minnesota.

Despite the injury and his advancing age, the Falcons signed Cousins, 36, to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100M of that guaranteed.

Cousins didn't look comfortable against T.J. Watt and the Steelers, something complicated by a strange shift to a lot of pistol for what has been one of the most successful traditional play-action quarterbacks in the NFL.

The goal for Atlanta is to stop the early bleeding with an upset win in Philadelphia on Monday night against the 1-0 Eagles set to embark on their true home opener after a grueling trip to Brazil that resulted in a 34-29 triumph over the Green Bay Packers.

“I feel good. I feel good," Cousins insisted when pressed about his return from the Achilles injury.

Analyst and former Eagles backup quarterback Chase Daniel was among several outside observers who noted that Cousins did not look healthy.

"No, the Achilles feels good, and I feel like I can move and push as I normally would,” Cousins insisted.

That leads to the question of new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who had arrived from a more play-action mindset under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams that began to mix the pistol in, using Cousins in the pistol where the QB looked disjointed.

“I think some of the run game and how we set it up you know we'll change those things week to week," Robinson said of the strange shift. "You know, we're never married to one thing or the other. Those things will ever be evolving based on the game plan that week. But certainly like the pistol. You know, we did a ton with the Rams last year. And it's something that gives you great versatility across the board. So we'll continue to find those spots to mix it.”

Robinson believes the formation can offer the best of both worlds.

"That was something that we, last year with the Rams, we realized like, man, you really have kind of everything at your disposal because you're in the dot and you kind of have your play pass. You have everything," Robinson said. "You have your drop-back pass still intact there. So like what the versatility of the pistol does bring. But again, we'll continue to mix it and it’ll be base to base on a week-to-week basis.”

During Week 1 the Falcons didn't have much of anything with Cousins completing just 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions against the Steelers, something Robinson would also not tie to Cousins' health.

"Certainly not concerned with Kirk's mobility at all," Robinson said. "He's looked great out there. He's moving around really well today. So no concerns at all.”

The Eagles also are approaching it as business as usual with Cousins, a volume QB capable of putting up big numbers when right. Last season with the Vikings, Cousins passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns with a 125.6 rating passer rating during a 34-28 Eagles' shootout win.

"I do believe he's healthy enough. If he wasn't, they probably wouldn't play him," Philadelphia defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said.

"Kirk has been an unbelievable football player in this league for a long time. A lot of respect for him," added head coach Nick Sirianni. "He's a great football player. So, we're going to have to be ready. [His health is] not something you can control, if he was feeling good one day, not feeling good the other day. We have to be ready for the player that we know he is, because he's a heck of a player, and we've got to be ready for him because he can make teams look bad because of his talent."

McMullen's Week 2 Prediction: Eagles 31, Falcons 23