Falcons Stock Report: Kirk Cousins, Kyle Pitts Trending Down

From the success of defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake to the struggles of quarterback Kirk Cousins, here's who's rising and falling for the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had his third straight game with no touchdowns Sunday vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons find themselves in a familiar position: spiraling as the season winds down.

Atlanta, for the second consecutive year, entered December with the lead in the NFC South -- but what was once a two-game lead plus the tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is now down to just the tiebreaker after the Bucs beat the Panthers in overtime.

That's after the Falcons (6-6) suffered a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) on Sunday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

As the Falcons trend down, so do some of their big-name players -- while a few others are trending up. Here's whose stock is rising and falling after Sunday's defeat ...

Stock Up

WR Ray-Ray McCloud III

By the time the Falcons reached their Week 12 bye, McCloud had already set career highs in both catches (41) and receiving yards (381). He returned from the bye week with a season-high 95 receiving yards on four receptions.

McCloud made the longest catch of his pro career in the third quarter, logging a 60-yard catch-and-run on a narrowly completed pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Atlanta's offense has scored one touchdown in its last nine quarters, but McCloud isn't the reason why.

Ray Ray McCloud dances down the sideline for 60 yards!

📺: #LACvsATL on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/LAPgHaDMtY

— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024

Edge Arnold Ebiketie

This nomination really goes to the entire Falcons defensive line, which recorded a season-best five sacks of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Atlanta entered the day with just 10 sacks through the first 11 games of the season.

Ebiketie, who began this season with hopes of building on a six-sack campaign in 2023, notched two sacks Sunday, the most he's had in a single game during his three-year professional career. He added one tackle for loss.

Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake

Perhaps nobody drew more criticism entering Atlanta's bye week than Lake, who's defense fell apart in a 38-6 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 17. But two weeks later, the Falcons' defense thrived.

Atlanta held Los Angeles to just 187 total yards of offense, the fewest its allowed this season, and only 10 first downs. The Chargers went 3-of-11 on third down and didn't convert their lone fourth down try.

The Falcons' defense, Cousins said, played well enough to win. Their offense didn't.

Stock Down

QB Kirk Cousins

For the first time in a decade, Cousins threw four interceptions Sunday. Afterwards, Falcons coach Raheem Morris had to field questions about Cousins's job security moving forward with first-round rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. waiting in the wings.

[RELATED: Raheem Morris Comments on Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Following Chargers Loss]

Atlanta will move forward with Cousins under center and has no reservations about doing so. However, for Cousins, who went 24-for-39 passing for 245 yards and finished his third consecutive game with no touchdowns, the game marked his worst in Atlanta -- and one of the worst in his career.

His 40 overall passer rating is his lowest since earning a 15.9 against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 20, 2020.

TE Kyle Pitts

After a strong October, Pitts has hit a wall. He had a strong performance Nov. 10 against the New Orleans Saints, catching four passes for 55 yards, but he's had one or fewer catches in Atlanta's other three games since the calendar flipped to November.

On Sunday, Pitts had his second game without a catch this season. Through the first 12 games of the year, he has 35 receptions for 494 yards and three touchdowns.

Bye Week Growth Offensively -- Or Lack Thereof

The Falcons wanted to eliminate self-inflicted wounds coming out of the bye week. Instead, their offense again significantly outgained the opponent (350-187) but failed to finish drives.

Atlanta reached the redzone four times and only scored one touchdown. It had a missed field goal and interception to waste a pair of scoring opportunities and settled for a 26-yard field goal on another.

Despite running 77 plays and holding possession for nearly 36 minutes, the Falcons didn't win. Despite doubling the Chargers in rushing yards and nearly doubling Los Angeles in total yardage, Atlanta didn't win.

And now, any solutions the Falcons thought they found during the bye week to free themselves of such wounds have already been proven incorrect.