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Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Kirk Cousins had a day in the office where he couldn’t wait to forget about the fact that fans in A-Town and around the league were demanding his job.
Cousins passed for 245 yards and completed 24-of-39 passes in a four-point loss. los angeles Chargers, but his carelessness with the ball destroyed Atlanta.
That’s because the 36-year-old signal caller threw an inexcusable four interceptions in the loss, including one pick-six.
Arguably his worst play came on his third interception. He threw an emergency pass into the end zone, which was covered by the defense. Cousins’ pass fell into triple coverage and Marcus Maye was able to catch it.
But even after that fumble, the Falcons were able to get the ball back, giving Cousins one last chance at redemption.
Instead, he forced a pass on 4th-and-12 and safety Derwin James jumped the route to pick off Cousins for his fourth of the night.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had a tough day at the office in the loss to the Chargers.
Cousins threw four picks on the day, including the pick above, and his third pick of the afternoon.
This performance has led many fans of the Falcons, who are currently 6-6, to call for the team to turn to rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Who Atlanta drafted out of the University of Washington last year..
‘It’s time. FREE PENIX,’ one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert tweeted, ‘Hey, stop. If Bo Nix can do it in Denver, give me Penix Jr. Penix can do it with all these weapons in Atlanta.’
Atlanta sports play-by-play voice Mike Conti posted, ‘Now you have to see the penis.’ I have no idea what Cousins is doing.’
‘Kirk Cousins just made his play in the game,’ said Kevin Knight, a reporter for SB Nation’s ‘The Falcoholic’ blog. Penis deserves a chance and if he plays well, let him run the show.’
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame said, ‘It’s time to fight Michael Penix Jr. ‘This is a ridiculous situation,’ he posted.
The Falcons invested a lot of money in Cousins during the offseason. They signed him to a four-year, $180 million free agent contract, with $100 million guaranteed.
Atlanta then selected Penix with the eighth overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
This has led some fans to call for Cousins to be replaced with rookie signal caller Michael Penix Jr.
So far, Cousins hasn’t lived up to his billing.
He provided some great individual moments, including a Monday Night Football overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. However, his overall statistics leave more to be desired.
His 2,807 passing yards are seventh in the league and he has a solid 17-9 TD/INT ratio, but his QBR of 56.8 is 20th in the league and his passer rating of 96.6 is roughly average.
Nonetheless, at 6-6, the Falcons currently lead the NFC South. Cousins will face his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, on the road next Sunday.
