Falcons HC Raheem Morris Weighs In On Kirk Cousins' Rough Debut

The Kirk Cousins era in Atlanta didn’t get off to a hot start, which isn’t an encouraging sign for a player in his first game back from a torn Achilles. The Falcons lost 18-10 against a Pittsburgh Steelers squad that was without starting quarterback Russell Wilson. Cousins threw for 155 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. 

Despite his struggles, Cousins has the support of head coach Raheem Morris. 

"With Kirk being here, we've been doing the same thing since he's been here, and that's how we've planned on playing and we've played that way throughout," Morris said Monday.

"We've played that way for a minute, and we've done a bunch of different things in our case and everything we're going to do is figuring out how to win this football game. And that was the plan to go out there and win the football game."

Kirk Cousins inked a four-year, $180 million deal in the offseason, but then Atlanta drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick. If progress isn’t made, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Penix take snaps. 

"We played, I thought, winning football in two phases of the game, and we didn't play winning football in our offensive phase of the game," Morris said of the loss. 

Penix Jr. would’ve been drafted higher if not for his injury history. He threw for 9,544 yards and 67 touchdowns in two seasons at Washington. He led the Huskies to the College Football playoff last season and left the nation singing his praises when scorching the Texas Longhorns for 430 yards in the Sugar Bowl. 

Cousins will get a chance to bounce back and prove himself when the Falcons take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.