Kirk Cousins Admits Questioning His Process During Falcons 4-Game Losing Streak

The Atlanta Falcons spent big in the offseason to fix their quarterback room, but they find themselves in familiar territory.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is in a slump and his team is suffering through a four-game losing streak. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

When the Atlanta Falcons signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180-million ($90-million guaranteed) contract at the start of free agency, they hoped they fixed problems that have plagued the position since Matt Ryan was shipped to Indianapolis.

The early returns were good as Cousins helped lead the team to a 6-3 record, but in the midst of a four-game losing streak that mirrors last season's collapse, Cousins has played dreadfully. Having no touchdowns against eight interceptions in that span has been thoroughly discussed as the calls for No. 8 overall draft pick Michael Penix Jr. get louder and louder.

Cousins admitted before last week's return to Minnesota that he was feeling the heat. This week he admitted questioning his process and being open to changing how he prepared for games. That sounds simple enough, but it's not easy to get 13-year veterans to be open minded, something to do with old dogs and new tricks.

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“You certainly have a process that's worked and has enabled you to play well and so you trust it," Cousins said when asked about his game preparation. "I think you'd be foolish though to just blindly stick to something even when you know, 'Hey there's clearly a fundamental we need to improve on here.' So it's both, it's not you completely blow up your process, but at the same time you say, 'Hey clearly there's something here in my decision-making, or my fundamentals, or the way I'm seeing the field, or the way I'm playing the game that it needs to be improved or tweaked so let's also look at doing that.'"

Cousins appreciates the different voices he has to lean on in the Falcons organization. Despite the fact he's nearly the same age as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he's not afraid to learn from them and listen to the youngest voices in the quarterback room.

"That's why you have T.J. Yates and D.J. Williams and Zac Robinson to help you on that journey, on that process," Cousins said. "That's where I would say kind of quarterback room is like a working force together because you're saying to Michael [Penix] and to Nate [Peterman] what do you see, what do you think? So we're all kind of pulling together trying to lend perspective.”

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has done his best to keep Cousins's confidence high despite the struggles. He hasn't waivered in his belief (at least publicly) during this stretch of games that a Cousins firing on all cylinders gives the Falcons the best chance to win.

The problems is, he's 36, coming off an injury, has played terribly, and there's a hot-shot rookie waiting in the wings.

The Falcons go to Las Vegas on Monday night to take on the Raiders. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the division, but they are underdogs to the LA Chargers on Sunday.

It's a key week for the Falcons. They could find themselves back in first place on Tuesday morning, or they could be humiliated by the quarterback they kicked to the curb in favor of Cousins on Monday night.

A win where Cousins plays well will buy him more time before the Falcons eventually hand the reins to Penix, but a loss could signal the end of his brief tenure as an Atlanta Falcon.