The Atlanta Falcons suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the New Orleans Saints during Week 10. But that didn't stop quarterback Kirk Cousins from rising to a new high point on NFL.com's quarterback power rankings.
In the website's QB Index, which NFL.com's Nick Shook releases every week, Cousins rose to No. 12 ahead of Week 11. Cousins moved up one spot from where he was each of the last two weeks.
"A Week 10 loss to the Saints showed Cousins' mettle, but it also gave the Falcons a lesson on the importance of capitalizing on scoring chances. Sticky coverage made things quite difficult for Cousins through the air early, but eventually he overcame it, firing strikes to Darnell Mooney, Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Ray-Ray McCloud to move the offense into scoring position," Shook wrote. "The result wasn't Cousins’ fault, frankly, but it was an example of how wasting promising possessions can result in a loss.
"Cousins was sharp for most of the game, and it wasn't until he trusted his arm too much in a high-pressure moment that Cousins hurt his team, firing a pass into a tight window for a Tyrann Mathieu interception. The ending was ugly, but that shouldn't sully a generally positive day for Cousins."
The No. 12 spot is the new highest position Cousins has held in Shook's QB Index this season.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray jumped Cousins, moving from No. 17 to No. 10 on Shook's QB Index this week. But Cousins still increased his positioning by passing Minnesota Vikings' Sam Darnold and Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford. Darnold fell four spots while Stafford plummeted 10 positions.
Cousins threw an interception that essentially sealed the Falcons' fate in the 20-17 loss to the Saints in Week 10. But Cousins was also why they had a chance to beat the lackluster Saints. The veteran quarterback completed 23 of 38 passes for 306 yards. It was the third consecutive game where he averaged at least 8 yards per pass attempt.
While the Falcons offense struggled to convert drives into touchdowns, they could have beaten the Saints with a better game from kicker Younghoe Koo. The Falcons kicker missed three attempts in the loss to New Orleans.
In 10 games this season, Cousins has completed 68.2% of his passes for 17 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He's averaging 7.9 yards per pass with a 98.9 passer rating.
