FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is playing at historic lows.
Since entering the NFL in 2012, he never has strung together four games with a sub-80 passer rating, nor has he ever had back-to-back games without throwing a touchdown pass.
With the season on the line and their playoff hopes in jeopardy, the Falcons (6-7) need Cousins to have a turnaround when they face the Raiders (2-11) at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
“It’s that time of the year, if you don’t have things going your way, you just have to dig deep and keep playing,” Cousins said Thursday. “That’s what we are doing. Trying to do it again this week, to get a win any way that we can.”
Cousins is the first starting quarterback with zero passing touchdowns and eight or more interceptions in a four-game span since Ben Roethlisberger from 2005-06, according to Pro Football Network. His drop in play has helped to cause the Falcons to tumble out of first place in the NFC South.
The Falcons are a game behind the Bucs (7-6) with four games to play. The Falcons beat the Bucs twice this season, but are in danger of losing the division title to them in part because of the major slippage in play by Cousins.
A passer rating of 80 or better generally is considered to range from good to very good. A perfect rating is 153.8. Cousins has had ratings of 70.1, 40, 68.9 and 75.1 during the four-game losing streak, without a touchdown pass.
Before the recent slump, Cousins had three other sub-80 games this season: Steelers 59; Saints 68.5, Seahawks 72.6. The Falcons were 1-2 in those games and won the Saints game without the offense scoring a touchdown.
“We got to move the football,” Cousins said. “We’ve got to do better on first and second downs. Running, throwing it. I’ve got to protect the football. I’ve got to be good in third downs.
“We have to finished in the red zone. It’s a formula that doesn’t change much from week-to-week, but that’s what you need to do in this league to win.”
The Falcons are not alarmed and appear set to let Cousins try to play his way out of the slump.
“Kirk will be fine,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Kirk has been through this before (in) some kind of stretch, whether it was four games, whether it was one game, two games or whatever the case may be. He’s the ultimate professional, so I’ve got a lot of confidence that he’ll be able to bounce out of this thing.”
The Falcons were expecting an elevated level of play from Cousins, who signed a four-year contract worth $180 million in free agency this past offseason. Cousins is coming back from Achilles surgery and appeared on the injury report for one day Nov. 13, three days after playing the Saints, with a shoulder injury.
With plus-80 rating by Cousins, the Falcons likely would have had the NFC South title already secured.
So, the Falcons’ offensive minds are trying to figure out how to get Cousins back on track.
“Kirk’s really the same guy every single week, every single day in the meeting room,” Falcons quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You wouldn’t know if you came in there on a Wednesday or Monday after a game, whether or not he had a good game or a bad game, or (if he) threw for 500 yards or if he had some turnovers. The guy is the same pro every single day when he walks in that room. He’s never too up, he’s never too down.”
Cousins’ 15 interceptions and 12 fumbles are the most in the league. The Falcons moved away from Desmond Ridder in part because of his turnovers. He had 12 interceptions and 12 fumbles last season over 13 starts.
“Those things (interceptions), obviously they faze you in a certain way,” Yates said. “But he is such a pro, and he’s been through so many situations in his career where he’s had a ton of very successful games. He’s had stretches where he’s played not as well as he wants to.”
But none of those stretches have gone for four games.
At the end of the 2014 season and the first game of the 2015 season, Cousins had a sub-80 passer rating for three games, 78.2 (loss), 64.2 (win) and 68.7 (loss). The Falcons clearly are counting on Cousins to pull out of his slump.
“So, he knows how to handle these situations,” Yates said. “He knows how to stay even keel, no matter what. Brush those things off. Every week is a new week. Every play is a new play. Every practice is a new practice.”
The Falcons are sticking with Cousins. Rookie Michael Penix Jr. has been running the scout team all season. He’s played in mop-up duty in two games.
Penix said he’ll be ready in case of emergency, but hasn’t practiced a game plan all season. He has to take mental repetitions while watching Cousins run the first-team offense.
“That’s the tough thing about being a backup quarterback,” Yates said. “You’ve got to be ready at the drop of the hat without having those type of (game plan) reps. But he does everything on a week-to-week basis. Preparing as much as you can mentally, much as you can physically.”
The Falcons plan to support Cousins and the rest of the team as they try to move forward.
“It’s tough on everybody,” Morris said. “You just want to play better so you can find a way to get out of the funk and win. It’s tough on all of the guys. The main thing is when the quarterback is a part of that and the head coach, they always get most of the credit and always get most of the blame.”
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