Kirk Cousins is under fire for his postgame comments following the Atlanta Falcons‘ four-quarter collapse to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14.
The Vikings spoiled Cousins’ homecoming, scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to cap a 42-21 victory on December 9 that knocked Atlanta out of first place in the NFC South. Cousins struggled against his former team, throwing two interceptions and failing to throw a touchdown for a fourth consecutive game this season.
After the game, Sports Illustrated’s Daniel Flick documented Cousins’ postgame news conference on social media. Cousins admitted he felt blindsided by a 14-point swing by the Vikings, who scored on back-to-back drives with the help of a fumble recovery by the kickoff team.
“Yeah, I was encouraged when it was 21-21 [after three quarters],” Cousins said after the game. “Felt good about it, but, you know, the next time we got the ball back it was 35-21 and had a little different tenor to the game at that point.”
While Cousins seemed to have good intentions, describing the change in mood the next time the Falcons offense had the ball, fans took his words as a slight toward the defense and special teams units.
Vikings, Falcons Fans React to Cousins’ Postgame Comment
Cousins’ postgame quote caught fire on X (formerly Twitter) as many Falcons fans vented their frustrations over the seemingly innocuous comment.
Flick provided the full transcript to add clarity to a previous quote, however, it didn’t help fans who have grown frustrated through one of Cousins’ worst runs of his career.
In the past four games, Cousins has thrown eight interceptions and zero touchdowns — the longest span without a score in his career as a starter. He’s the first quarterback to undergo a stretch that poor since Brett Favre in 2005.
One Vikings fan came to Cousins’ side: “poorly worded but I promise you he wasn’t trying to throw the defense under the bus.”
Many fans disagreed.
Another Falcons fan acknowledged that the rug was pulled out from under Cousins’ feet in the fourth quarter.
“I mean he’s not wrong,” the fan said, adding “a fumble on a kickoff is a freak thing to happen. Doesnt excuse his poor play the last FOUR weeks.”
Cousins’ two interceptions were troubling. He missed a wide open throw to tight end Kyle Pitts and also threw a ball right into the hands of Vikings safety Josh Metellus.
Sam Darnold Proves Vikings Right to Move on From Cousins
To be clear, the consensus from local beat reporters is that the Vikings wanted Cousins back — but on a contract that offered flexibility to rebuild the roster.
The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, leading Cousins to take the money and run to Georgia, signing a four-year, $180 million contract with the Falcons in March.
While signing Sam Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal wasn’t the flashiest move at the time, the 27-year-old quarterback is proving the Vikings right to not chase Cousins.
Darnold completed 22-of-28 pass attempts for 347 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first Vikings quarterback to throw five touchdowns since Daunte Culpepper in 2004.
Currently 11-2, the Vikings are exceeding their preseason win total projection of 6.5 games, and Darnold is at the center of their surprise contention bid.
