Falcons game ends with a Cousins checkdown familiar to Vikings fans

Not the first time in Kirk's career that he's thrown short of the sticks on the final play.

Nov 10, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) passes against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Kirk Cousins threw short of the sticks on the final play of the Falcons' loss on Sunday.

Sound familiar?

Facing a 4th and 4 at the Saints' 43-yard line, with just seven seconds on the clock, Cousins and the Falcons needed to pick up the first down and get out of bounds — they had no timeouts left — to set up a game-tying field goal attempt. It was a tough spot to be in, but Cousins didn't give them a chance when he swung the ball to Ray-Ray McCloud III in the flat with multiple defenders nearby.

McCloud was tackled for a one-yard loss as the game clock expired on a 20-17 loss for Atlanta.

Kirk Cousins why are you throwing before the sticks on the last play of the game smh pic.twitter.com/QbDRhZfEuH

— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) November 10, 2024

The play was reminiscent of Cousins checking the ball down to T.J. Hockenson well short of the sticks on the final play of the Vikings' wild card round loss to the Giants that ended their 2022 season.

Giants deny the Vikings!

📺: #NYGvsMIN on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/uuhRH8WYIn pic.twitter.com/CIPFPUD3Ao

— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2023

This one on Sunday was a bit more excusable for Cousins, considering there was so little time on the clock and he may not have had clearly better options. But like the play against the Giants, his decision didn't give his team any sort of opportunity to convert the fourth down and stay alive.

Cousins also threw an interception to Tyrann Mathieu a couple minutes earlier on one of the Falcons' many opportunities to tie the game or take the lead. But to be clear, he was far from the only reason why they lost to the previously 2-7 Saints on Sunday. Cousins was fine but not great, going 23 of 38 for 306 yards with 1 INT and no touchdowns on a day where Atlanta racked up 468 yards of offense.

The biggest issue was that Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo went just 1 for 4 on field goal attempts, missing two long ones and having another blocked. That made all the difference in New Orleans' win. It also may have factored into Atlanta not trying a 61-yarder to tie the game instead of having Cousins throw the ball on what turned out to be the game's final play.

The Falcons fell to 6-4 on Sunday but remain two games up on the Buccaneers atop the NFC South.