QB Kirk Cousins remains in a slump as the Vikings spoil his homecoming with 2 interceptions

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When his last pass of the game sailed over the head of tight end Kyle Pitts and landed harmlessly in the back of the end zone, all Kirk Cousins could do was shake his head and begin the slow walk to the sideline.

Not only were his Atlanta Falcons in a spiral — his homecoming was ruined too.

Cousins returned to Minneapolis on Sunday to face the Vikings, his team for the previous six seasons. But rather than silencing his former fans with a sparkling performance, he extended a career-worst streak as Minnesota picked him off twice and didn't allow a touchdown pass in a 42-21 victory.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Falcons (6-7), who fell out of a first-place tie with Tampa Bay in the NFC South.

Over that stretch, Cousins has thrown eight interceptions and no touchdown passes. According to Sportradar, he's the sixth quarterback in the past 20 seasons to go four straight games in a season with at least one interception and no touchdown passes. The others: Trace McSorley (2022), Curtis Painter (2011), Ken Dorsey (2008), Brett Favre (2005) and Alex Smith (2005).

“I’d love to be playing with a lot more production,” said Cousins, who lingered on the field to greet his former teammates and coaches after the game. “It’s been disappointing the last four weeks to not have a touchdown pass. I’d like that to be different.”

The game wasn't an entire washout for Cousins, who completed 23 of 37 passes for 344 yards, his second-highest yardage total of the season. But he had two interceptions. The first came with the game tied 7-7 late in the first quarter, when safety Josh Metellus stepped in front of a short pass near midfield.

The second happened as the Falcons were trying to rally from a 14-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter. Cousins overthrew a pass that cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. hauled in with one hand near the goal line.

“Certainly the first turnover is one that I can correct. I can throw it away. … I don’t need to force the ball into that window,” Cousins said. “The second one was tough. I would’ve liked to have put the ball more on the inside. They brought a lot of pressure and I thought Byron Murphy made a good play."

With calls for rookie first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. to start growing louder, Falcons coach Raheem Morris said he has no plans to bench Cousins.

“Everything is always discussed when you go watch the tape and do those type of things,” Morris said. “But Kirk Cousins is our quarterback. ... We’ll do whatever is best to go win football games and Kirk is definitely a part of that.”

Cousins allowed himself one light-hearted moment after hearing that Morris said he thought his quarterback played better than he had the previous week, when Cousins tied a career high with four interceptions in a 17-13 loss to the Chargers.

“Last week was a low bar,” Cousins said with a laugh. “But I felt better today. I felt more like myself.”

He also said he wasn't surprised at the loud boos that he and his teammates heard when they came out of the tunnel before the game.

“It’s a great fan base and I expected them to make it hostile, and they did a good job of that,” Cousins said.

With his return to Minnesota no longer looming on the schedule, Cousins and the Falcons can now focus on the closing stretch, which starts with a game at Las Vegas next week and also includes another homecoming game for Cousins at Washington on Dec. 29.

“It’s never easy,” Cousins said. “In pro football you get tested, and we’re there right now. But win or lose you have to be able to apply the same processes each week and get better. Whether you win or lose you’ve got to find a way to continuously improve.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Patrick Donnelly, The Associated Press