Raheem Morris said Kirk Cousins will have to improve the rest of the way
The Atlanta Falcons picked up a 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football, but the performance of quarterback Kirk Cousins did not take any heat off of him, and head coach Raheem Morris had a blunt reaction to his performance after the game.
“He's got to play better,” Raheem Morris said, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. “We have to find a way to get him to play better. We have to play better at the quarterback position.”
Cousins threw 17 passes, completing 11 of them for 112 yards while also throwing one touchdown and one interception. That is simply not going to be good enough against better competition. The Raiders are one of the worst teams in the league, and one of only two teams that have just two wins on the season. The next opponent is the other team that has two wins in the New York Giants.
If Cousins does not turn things around soon, the noise will get louder when it comes to potentially benching him for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. However, that does not mean that it will happen. Regardless, it is a pressing time for the Falcons.
Falcons need Kirk Cousins to step up to close season strong
The Falcons moved to 7-7 overall on the season, keeping hopes alive to make the playoffs. They are one game behind the 8-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. After sweeping the season series with the Buccaneers, the Falcons just need to tie with them at the end of the season to win the division. Atlanta has winnable games to close the season.
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This upcoming week, the Falcons will take on the Giants at home in a game that should be very winnable. Then, the final two games are against the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers. The Commanders game is the toughest, but the Falcons should be able to compete in each of their remaining contests. If they win all three, the Buccaneers would have to lose one of their remaining games against the Dallas Cowboys, Panthers and New Orleans Saints.
The Falcons came into the season with big expectations after significantly upgrading at the quarterback position by signing Cousins. They will need some help down the stretch to make the playoffs, even if they win the remaining games on their schedule. It will be interesting to see how Cousins and the Falcons fare in the remaining games.
