Falcons 'Not Concerned' as QB Kirk Cousins Battles Rust, Not Injury

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had a difficult team debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had a difficult team debut in Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Kirk Cousins set a handful of career records in his debut as the Atlanta Falcons' starting quarterback -- but none in a good way.

Cousins, who finished 16-of-26 for 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in Atlanta's 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, threw for just 19 yards in the second half, the fewest in his career.

Schematically, the Falcons ran 26 snaps out of pistol formation, 22 from shotgun and just two under center -- an end-around handoff to running back Bijan Robinson and a late-game spike. Through his first 12 years in the NFL, Cousins had never eclipsed 10 snaps from the pistol.

Be it for his rocky play or Atlanta's lack of under-center, play-action passing, questions surrounding Cousins's health arose after Sunday's defeat. Falcons coach Raheem Morris squashed all concerns about Cousins and his 10-month-old surgically repaired Achilles in a press conference Monday.

"I feel like Kirk Cousins is healthy," Morris said. "He's been healthy since he's been here, since he's been back. Obviously, the restrictions we put on him when he first got here, being smart with the OTA days. Training camp, he was full go and able to move other than the scrambles and some of those things we limited.

"Towards the end of training camp, we allowed those things to happen, got him ready to go. We got to a game [Sunday], and we've got to get better."

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Morris said the Falcons' offensive game plan unfolded as it hoped, meaning the shortage of play action and under center concepts was the team's intent entering the day.

Atlanta's game plan is situational, Morris noted, and Pittsburgh's defensive line played an important part in dictating that plan.

The Falcons wanted to put their offensive linemen into advantageous positions to block Pittsburgh's defensive linemen, but instead, Morris said the Steelers exposed the Falcons' interior line and also activated Pittsburgh's edge rushers.

The Steelers collected two sacks, three tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits against the Falcons, who rushed for four yards per carry on 22 attempts.

Yet for as suffocating as Pittsburgh's defense proved, Morris knows Atlanta's offense has plenty of work to do.

"I don't want to take away any credit with what they were able to do, but our plan, we got to go out there and execute it better in order to get them protected a little bit better," Morris said. "They definitely hit us too much when it came to some of the drop-back passes, for different situations.

"Some of it's situational, on the third down and extra longs. Some of the second down and longs and the get-back-on-tracks got tough when they caught on to our screen game. Then, we’ve got to find a better way to stay on track, particularly in the second half."

Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said after practice Thursday none of the play-calling decisions were related to Cousins and a health-related lack of mobility.

"Absolutely not," Robinson said. "It just went with the flow of the game."

Many players in Atlanta's locker room cited penalties and turnovers as crucial mistakes during Sunday's loss. The self-inflicted miscues not only reduced the Falcons' overall snaps but steepened the challenge of some of the plays that followed.

Still, the Falcons rallied behind Cousins.

Right guard Chris Lindstrom said Cousins is a "phenomenal" leader, and Atlanta's offensive line needs to take it upon itself to better for the four-time Pro Bowler.

Running back Tyler Allgeier noted the veteran presence Cousins provides, citing his next-play mentality after turnovers as a demeanor his teammates need to embrace.

And Allgeier, who's working with his fourth quarterback in three years, spoke highly of Cousins following the season-opening loss.

"I think he did really good," Allgeier said. "Really well, especially coming from his season-ending injuries and coming into live ball. That's my captain right there. We ride with him, so that's the most important thing, just knowing we're all behind him, whether it be a good game or bad game."

Morris didn't necessarily agree.

"The assessment is easy for him -- it wasn't good enough," Morris said Monday. "We threw two interceptions. We’ve got to make better decisions in the passing game all around. We can't turn the ball over to allow our defense to go out and get some big stops for us, which they did.

"But it just wasn't good enough, and we're going to be really clear about that."

Morris added the Falcons make those assessments to every player on the team after both wins and losses -- but the quarterback and head coach naturally get the most attention.

Atlanta's coaching staff addressed such dissatisfaction with the roster Monday morning, and Morris said the team will be better because of it.

But part of the concern surrounding Cousins extends beyond the surface of his on-field play and into the root cause of it -- the health of his ankle and Achilles. Morris cited rust, not injuries, as a factor, and said similar things bit defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and return specialist Avery Williams.

However, Jarrett had 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. Williams returned a punt for 28 yards, tied for the third-longest punt return league-wide in Week 1.

Cousins hid his rust underneath the spotlight that naturally arose after signing a four-year, $180 million deal this spring. And while Morris thinks the Falcons need to play better around Cousins, the burden still falls on the 36-year-old to deliver on lofty expectations.

"For Kirk, we know he has to play better, there's no doubt about that," Morris said. "I look forward to him doing that. He's played in the league for a long time. I look forward to him bouncing back from a rough game and a rough outing. I'm not overly concerned with that."

On Thursday, Morris said Cousins accepted and stepped up to the challenge this week. There was no sugarcoating or blaming others. During practice, Cousins took snaps from under center and operated play action looks, as he has in practices throughout the summer.

And so, as the Falcons prepare for a road match with the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:15 p.m. Monday inside Lincoln Financial Field, international expectations for Cousins remain high -- starting with Morris.

"I got all the confidence in the world in him because of who he is," Morris said.