There’s a reason why the Atlanta Falcons have taken to calling him “Kirko Clutch.” The quarterback was an ace in the second half of Monday night’s 22-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, completing 13 of his 16 pass attempts for 166 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Cousins’ second-half passer rating was 149.5. He finished out the game 20-for-29 with 241 yards and zero turnovers. Despite the heroics so many Falcons fans heralded him for after the victory, Cousins was still critical of himself following the Week 2 win.
“I still am not sharp enough,” Cousins told ESPN’s Lisa Salters “I didn’t feel like I was sharp enough today, accurate enough. I’ve got to be better. But that last drive can hopefully get us a boost going into next week. We can build on that.”
Kirk Cousins in the 2nd half vs the Eagles:
🥶 13/16
🥶 166 passing yards
🥶 2 TDs
🥶 149.5 passer rating pic.twitter.com/D2STH1RFRm— PFF (@PFF) September 17, 2024
The criticism was warranted, though, given how abysmal Cousins and the offense looked through the first two quarters of the contest. At halftime, the unit had put just six points on the scoreboard and the signal-caller had just 75 passing yards to his name.
Cousins was also underwhelming in the season opener in which the Falcons lost 18-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. He connected on 16 of his 26 passing attempts for 155 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in Week 1.
The way Cousins performed in the final minutes of Monday night’s win gives plenty of reason for optimism, though. If the Falcons QB can replicate that performance in Week 3 against the Chiefs, this team may be better than we realized.
