Not only did the Philadelphia Eagles pulverize the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, but they also were able to overcome a daunting curse related to former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in the process.
Before this past weekend, no team since 2016 had gone on to win the Super Bowl after suffering a loss to an opponent with Cousins as the starting quarterback in the same season. After a few years, it became known as the "Kirk Cousins Curse" and some wondered if would ever be broken.
But after losing to Cousins and the Falcons all the way back in Week 2 of the 2024 season, the Eagles were able to overcome the odds and break the curse by defeating the Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins gave Atlanta Falcons fans false hope with Week 2 performance vs. Philadelphia Eagles
After Atlanta was able to land Cousins in free agency last year, optimism surrounding the team definitely picked up heading into the 2024 season. The Falcons spent the previous two years dealing with inexperienced and unreliable signal-callers, and they believed adding Cousins would help eliminate some of the concerns that they had at the quarterback position in the recent past.
The former Minnesota passer got off to a freezing cold start with Atlanta in a Week 1 loss to a tough Pittsburgh Steelers, but in Week 2, Kirko Chainz gave Falcons fans a glimpse of what they had been hoping for.
Cousins helped Atlanta escape Philadelphia with a narrow 22-21 victory after the quarterback led his offense on a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for Falcons fans, that win over the Eagles turned out to be one of Atlanta's top highlights from the season. Cousins continued to play well in the first half of the 2024 campaign, but his performance eventually fell off a cliff, and it resulted in the Falcons missing the playoffs with an 8-9 record.
Fast forward to now and it seems like the former Vikings quarterback is doing everything he can to get Atlanta to cut him sooner rather than later so he can become a free agent again.
Who knows if Cousins will get his wish, but it's hard to imagine Falcons fans thinking their team would be in this situation after what they witnessed the quarterback do in Week 2 against the winners of this season's Super Bowl.