The Atlanta Falcons’ 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders wasn’t pretty, but it snapped a four-game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive in the NFC.
The team leaned heavily on the running game, with Bijan Robinson rushing for 125 yards on 22 carries. Atlanta’s special teams units dominated, blocking two punts and one extra point.
Kirk Cousins completed 11 attempts of 17 pass attempts for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The veteran quarterback came out hot but cooled off considerably in the second half.
The Falcons might have blown out the Raiders had Cousins played better but many of his poor habits returned. Head coach Raheem Morris was asked to assess Cousins’ play during his postgame press conference.
“He’s got to play better,” Morris said of Cousins. “He wants to play better. He’s got to play better. We’ve got to find a way to get him to play better. Obviously, we’ll get to work tomorrow and that’s a part of our process, right? You go and look at the tape, you review with the people it needs to be reviewed with. We’ll get all the coordinators in the room. We’ll talk with everybody and we’ve got to play better at the quarterback position.”
Morris complimented the special teams and defensive units. Ultimately, he was just happy to get a win.
“Our special teams was hot,” said Morris. “They were blocking punts. We were playing really well on defense. They were not able to move the ball on us… You gain confidence through getting wins and I think that’s what our guys did today.”
The Falcons are now 7-7 on the season and a half-game back in the NFC South standings. In Week 16, they will host the 2-12 New York Giants at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.