While the Atlanta Falcons looked like a well-oiled machine in their thrilling Week 2 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, they were a squeaky, rusty mess in Week 1. Looking back on the game, QB Kirk Cousins admitted an adjustment period in his first game back in nearly a year.
Appearing on the Dan Patrick Show earlier this week, Cousins soon realized the Steelers’ defense wasn’t forgiving like a training camp practice.
“In the first game against the Steelers, the final play, the interception that I threw,” Cousins told Patrick. “There’s push, but I’m used to, in practice, the seas part. It’s like Moses and the Red Sea. Where I just stand there, and everyone gets out of the way, and I make the throw. Then you play against the Steelers, you realize they’re not getting out of the way.”
While it wasn’t truly “the final play,” Cousins’ second interception essentially sealed his team’s fate. DL Larry Ogunjobi and EDGE Alex Highsmith constricted and collapsed the pocket, squeezing Cousins in tight and forcing a poor throw. CB Donte Jackson picked and nearly housed.
In practice, with a red jersey that screams “don’t touch,” Cousins could keep the play alive as the D-line got out of dodge and let him complete the rep. In a game, he isn’t afforded that kind of luxury.
“I’ve been playing in a much, much bigger telephone booth in practice. You get this false sense of security that I have space here. I have room. When in reality, no, you don’t.”
Cousins finished with one of the worst games of his career. He threw for just 155 yards and two interceptions with an adjusted yards per attempt of 3.3, a dreadful mark.
While every team had to shake off rust, Kirk Cousins’s situation was magnified. It was his first game since Oct. 29, 2023, when he suffered a season-ending Achilles tear. Diligently working his way back, Cousins nor hardly any of the Falcons starters played in the preseason, a deliberate decision by new head coach Raheem Morris. It’s part of the risk-reward equation each team makes. Play the starters and risk injury in a meaningless game? Or go into the opener in need of a tune-up?
Increasingly, teams are opting for the latter. While Cousins and the Falcons may be okay in the long run, they felt the short-term pain of facing a Steelers’ defense ready to go from the opening kickoff.
