Kirk Cousins had an injury realization two months too late to save Atlanta's season. The timing of Cousins blaming an injury for his 2024 collapse was curious. It wasn't a thought that had escaped Atlanta's media with the veteran responding by denying any issues. This, understandably, has annoyed Falcons fans who endured watching the quarterback slowly destroy their dreams of a playoff berth. Still, it is a reasonable explanation with Cousins struggling badly after taking punishment in Atlanta's second matchup against the Saints.
Head coach Raheem Morris continued to defend his quarterback, with his loyalty hurting his team. While it is typically an admirable trait, there is no way around the fact that Morris made the wrong decision. Still, it would have been a far easier path if Atlanta was aware of Kirk's injury that he has so conveniently blamed. This leading to an unavoidable and unhelpful hypothetical.
How would Atlanta's season have played out if Cousins was honest about his injury?
Looking at Atlanta's schedule and considering how quickly Michael Penix Jr. got up to speed it isn't a hot take to believe Atlanta holds onto the NFC South. Hypotheticals are always complete conjecture with any number of reasonable outcomes. Still, any reasonable pundit would look at Atlanta's final games and conclude that Penix wins at least two games that Kirk choked away. This is enough for the Falcons to hold onto the NFC South and return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.
To be completely fair, the failures at the end of the season aren't completely on the quarterback. While Cousins bears the majority of the blame, key struggles from kicker Younghoe Koo and head coach Raheem Morris also cost Atlanta.
Still, it is easy to remain frustrated with a quarterback who only admitted an injury when it benefitted him most. When it was actively costing the Falcons, the quarterback told the Atlanta media it wasn't an injury causing the late-season meltdown. Whatever the truth, there is no arguing that the Falcons would have been better off putting in Penix and perhaps would have retained their playoff spot.
