The New Orleans Saints' next opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, is limping their way down to the Superdome this Sunday, down both their top quarterback and wide receiver. However, the Saints should not count out Atlanta's backup quarterback, Kirk Cousins.
Cousins, a 13-year veteran in the National Football League, is currently the league's most expensive backup quarterback, with a cap hit of $40 million this year. He's a player who has seen everything the league has to offer and has even once led a team to a playoff victory. I mean, there's a reason that the Falcons gave him the contract they did before drafting Michael Penix Jr. a few months later.
With a full week of practice with the starters under his belt now, Cousins is sure to perform better than he did when he came in relief last week against the Carolina Panthers, when he only completed six of his 14 passes for 48 yards. The Saints would honestly be fools to count him out, especially given his record against the black and gold.
Kirk Cousins is almost always at his best against the Saints
Kirk Cousins has faced the Saints a total of seven times in the regular season. Almost every time, save for one or two outliers, he has been at the top of his game. Against the Saints, he has a total of 2,113 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and four interceptions, along with a quarterback rating of 104.3.
Oh, and remember his one playoff win I mentioned earlier? That was against New Orleans back in the 2019 season. In the wild card round, the Minnesota Vikings took the Saints to overtime, winning on a four-yard touchdown pass from Cousins himself to Kyle Rudolph.
It's safe to say that Kirk Cousins knows how to beat the Saints if he has to. With him at the helm, the Falcons might even have a better shot at a win in New Orleans, because their starting QB Michael Penix Jr., has yet to play a game against the Saints.