When does Kirk Cousins play Minnesota Vikings in 2024 NFL season?

Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons have often been the focus of the NFL offseason. First the Falcons made the splashy move of adding the veteran for $180-million for four-years. This was followed up by the Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the 8th overall pick and continually making headlines because of it.

While the decision was odd the reasoning is clear and Kirk Cousins remains Atlanta's starting quarterback. The money demands that Cousins remains the starter for the next two seasons setting up a reunion in Minnesota at some point this season.

The timing of the reunion for Cousins and the Falcons is far from ideal with the team not making the trip until week 14 on December 8th. This isn't ideal based on the timing for Cousins and a dome team traveling to Minnesota in December.

With that said, the advantage is still firmly in Atlanta's favor in this game depending on the health of the rosters. The Falcons have a chance to finish the year hot with the Vikings, Raiders, Giants, Commanders, and Panthers closing out the year.

Considering how difficult the early part of the schedule is there is a very real possibility that Atlanta needs to close the year 5-0 or 4-1 to claim the NFC South and a playoff spot. While that is completely speculation at this point it is obvious that this game is going to have more meaning at this point in the season.

There will be the emotional weight for Cousins as well as returning to his former franchise and taking on a head coach and defense that knows all his weaknesses. Whether it is Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy the Falcons are still guaranteed to have a huge advantage at the quarterback position with Cousins starting. While getting this game out of the way early would have been ideal it doesn't hurt the Falcons to have an easy schedule to finish out what should be an exciting 2024 season.