Tag: kirk cousins falcons

Kirk Cousins’ deal with the Falcons could upset the NFC’s balance of power

Kirk Cousins’ four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons upsets the balance of power in the NFC South — and perhaps the entire NFC.

In the end, the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons were in a bidding war for the services of quarterback Kirk Cousins, and in the end, the Falcons won out. Per multiple reports, Cousins has agreed to terms on a four-year contract, and this puts the Falcons in an entirely new stratosphere.

The numbers are about what you’d expect.

Last season, under head coach Arthur Smith, the Falcons finished 7-10 with quarterbacks Desmond Ridder, Taylor Heinicke, and Logan Woodside. Those quarterbacks combined for 17 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, and the tape was just as average as the numbers would indicate. Last season, before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers, Cousins completed 69.5% of his passes for 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had done some of his best work with Vikings head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin O’Connell; he’ll now try to get on the same page with Falcons OC Zac Robinson, who has a strong background in Sean McVay’s offense. Cousins also has a strong background in that kind of offense throughout his career.

Cousins will also have some estimable targets to throw to — while the Falcons have been in quarterback purgatory since Matt Ryan’s decline, they’ve added a lot of first-round talent at the skill positions with Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson. That all of a sudden takes Atlanta’s offense from Extremely Mid to potentially top-tier, which is a very big deal.