Kirk Cousins handed golden opportunity to change Atlanta Falcons narrative
By Nick Halden
Over the Atlanta Falcons' next three games Kirk Cousins will face each of his new division opponents for the first time. The Saints, Bucs, and Panthers will make up Atlanta's schedule and gives the team a chance to flip the script and take control of the NFC South. If the Falcons win out the rest of what happens doesn't matter.
Worst case scenario, the Falcons are tied for the division lead while holding all the tiebreakers. Regardless of what the rest of the South does if the Falcons can win their next three they will take control of the division and have an easy path ahead.
Kirk Cousins has a chance to end any debate of how soon the Falcons should start Penix
While this is an important stretch for the franchise no player has more riding on these next three games than Kirk Cousins. Already there are rumblings about how soon fans could see Penix in the lineup. Cousins' clutch drive in Philly silenced a lot of these questions .
However, the team's failure to upset the Kansas City Chiefs with multiple chances already has some fans feeling uneasy. It is easy to see Kirk Cousins still doesn't have his full confidence back and is second-guessing himself in the pocket. This is true, and yet it won't matter if the veteran can take care of business in the next three weeks of the season.
Simply beating New Orleans goes a long way in many fans' view in stabilizing your place in the organization. While Kirk's contract is already doing this beating the Saints would further quiet the noise and allow Atlanta fans to fully believe they are a real contender with Kirk Cousins starting.
Beat not only New Orleans but each of the next two division opponents and you're sitting at 4-2 on the year in control of the division with very winnable games ahead. Kirk Cousins can silence critics that have followed him for years by stabilizing an Atlanta team that has continually fumbled away opportunities. Kirk Cousins was brought to Atlanta to give the team control of the NFC South, here's his chance.