Minnesota Vikings fans who still have some schadenfreude over the departure of Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons got their fix as Cousins threw an interception during his debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins throws an INT in the opening quarter of his debut with the Falconspic.twitter.com/G9TUlA4lpA
— The Viking Age (@TheVikingAge) September 8, 2024
Cousins was intercepted with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter. Facing a 2nd-and-1 from the Atlanta 40-yard line, Cousins was pressured and tried to find Falcons wide receiver Drake London for a first down. Unfortunately, Cousins’s pass was intercepted by Pittsburgh’s DeShon Elliott, giving the ball back to the Steelers.
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins begins debut with Atlanta Falcons with interception
It’s a shaky start for Cousins, who left Minnesota to sign a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed with the Falcons last spring.
Cousins believed he was the Falcons' long-term answer at quarterback even while coming back from a torn Achilles at age 36, but Atlanta surprised many when they selected former University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in last April’s NFL Draft.
Cousins likely isn’t fearing for his job yet, as it’s just the first game of the season. But as Vikings fans can attest, bad results can snowball into something larger, which pins the pressure on Cousins to respond.
It remains to be seen if this will be the beginning of a larger issue, but going up against a solid Steelers defense, it’s not the start that Falcons fans had in mind for their new franchise quarterback.