Overreaction or Bad Omen? NFL.com Predicts Whether Kirk Cousins Can Bounce Back

NFL.com's Kevin Patra picked whether or not the Week 1 performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins was a bad omen or not.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It's very easy to overreact to Week 1 of the NFL season. It's the only significant football fans have seen in the past seven months.

But when we look back on Week 1 at the end of the season, some things that happened this past weekend are going to prove to be foreshadowing events. NFL.com's Kevin Patra argued on September 11 that the poor performance from Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins against the Pittsburgh Steelers could be one of them.

Asked whether fans are overreacting to Cousins' poor play in his Falcons debut or if it's a bad omen, Patra called it a bad omen.

"Raheem Morris didn't sound worried about Cousins' health following the quarterback's lackluster Falcons debut in Atlanta's 18-10 loss to Pittsburgh. I'm going to respectfully disagree with the esteemed coach," Patra wrote. "The Falcons can insist the 36-year-old is recovered from his Achilles tear all they want, but they tell on themselves when they run zero play-action passes over an entire game and just one non-spike snap from under center. Those are staples of the Sean McVay offense.

"Unless Zac Robinson brought a completely foreign offense than the one he spent the past five years coaching in, what else could be the reason for those play-decision oddities other than Cousins being hindered?"

I agree that the offensive formation usage is not a good sign. The Falcons spent many of their offensive snaps during Week 1 in the pistol formation. That's not a formation either Cousins or Robinson are used to deploying.

With the pistol, the Falcons were trying to disguise whether or not they were passing or running. But Robinson didn't call many play-action passes out of the pistol formation versus the Steelers.

In addition to Cousins, Aaron Rodgers returned from an Achilles injury during Week 1. Rodgers looked a little more mobile and comfortable than Cousins. Rodgers suffered his Achilles injury seven weeks before Cousins, so that could be seen as a good sign for the Falcons quarterback.

Maybe by the middle of the season, he will be hitting his stride?

Patra argued that won't necessarily be the case.

"Perhaps Cousins will get to that place as he gets further from the injury, but most players get more worn down as the season goes, not the other way around," Patra wrote. "That Michael Penix Jr. pick could prove more prescient than expected in Year 1."

Cousins completed 16 of 26 passes for 155 yards against the Steelers. He also had 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

He said during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" on September 11 the fact everything is new to him, Robinson and the rest of the offense is the reason why the unit played so sluggishly in Week 1. Cousins and the Falcons offense can help prove that statement true with a much better performance Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.