Kirk Cousins' Statement Victory Could Shape Falcons' Outlook for Next Season
The Falcons needed more than a win in New Orleans. They needed a message. They needed a sign that the veteran leading them through the storm still had command of the locker room and the offense.
Kirk Cousins delivered that message with a performance that felt bigger than the final score. It was calm, it was efficient, and it was exactly the kind of statement Atlanta needed as it stares toward a future built around recovery, development, and belief.
This matchup came at the worst possible time for a team that has been searching for answers since Week 6. Atlanta had taken two games to overtime and lost both. The offense sputtered far too often. Third down conversions vanished. Momentum never lasted long enough to matter. Then came the blow that rattled the entire direction of the franchise.
Michael Penix Jr. suffered another season ending knee injury, the third of his football career, and the Falcons watched the quarterback they drafted to shape their future prepare for reconstructive surgery. The pressure shifted immediately to Cousins.
This was not supposed to be his story anymore. Atlanta signed Cousins to guide the present while Penix learned the ropes. But football rarely honors clean timelines. The moment Penix went down, Cousins became the bridge to 2026. What the Falcons needed in New Orleans was a veteran who could steady the team in its lowest hour.
Cousins answered every part of the assignment. His numbers were not designed to impress fantasy or Betpack sheets. They were designed to stabilize a franchise. Sixteen completions on twenty three attempts.
One interception that came on a throw he was right to make. A game sealing touchdown to Darnell Mooney, delivered with confidence and touch. A physical scramble where he lowered his shoulder to secure a first down, a moment that sent a message louder than any stat line.
Raheem Morris shaped the offense around Cousins with more under center work and play action. Cousins rewarded that trust by refusing to get in the way of the game. He played within rhythm. He kept the chains moving. He let the defense take control of the night while he kept the offense on schedule.
Cousins may not be Atlanta’s long term answer, but he is the right answer for right now. This win was more than a temporary lift. It was a statement that the Falcons can still build, still compete, and still trust the veteran who is carrying them toward next season. If this is the tone setter for 2025, Atlanta finally has something real to lean on again.
Mike Kafka Names ‘Interesting’ New DC After Firing Shane Bowen: Report
Another game surrendering 30-plus points and wasting a double-digit lead proved one game too many for the New York Giants and interim head coach Mike Kafka, who defensive coordinator Shane Bowen go one day after Week 12’s 34-27 loss to the Detroit Lions in overtime, before naming a surprising and “interesting” replacement.
Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen will take over the headset, according to NFL Insider Josina Anderson.
I’m told interim head coach Mike Kafka informed the coaches that outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen will be the interim defensive coordinator, per league source.
https://t.co/Z4zqkcPMjl— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) November 24, 2025
The Giants and interim head coach Mike Kafka ditching Bowen was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, among others, on Monday, November 24. This development went against Kafka’s initial comments after the game in Detroit, when he appeared to hint he still had “faith in Shane Bowen as the defensive coordinator and playcaller,” according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.
Ultimately though, the Giants and Kafka went another way, hardly surprising since a unit supposedly loaded up front is “ranked 30th in points and yards on defense,” per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
What is surprising is Kafka’s choice of Bullen as interim DC. It’s an “interesting” decision, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, who noted Bullen has “No DC experience, unlike DL coach Andre Patterson and DB coach Marquand Manuel.”
Bullen faces a steep learning curve trying to get an underperforming group to be anything but a liability after Big Blue’s latest collapse in the fourth quarter.
Shane Bowen Became the Fall Guy for Underachieving Defense
As the play-caller, Bowen took the brunt of the blame for how the Giants have struggled defensively this season. Many felt his dismissal was a necessity after events in Detroit.
Among the most vocal critics, Duggan’s colleague Ian O’Connor lamented how Bowen “never puts his unit in position to make the decisive play. If a player consistently performed the way Bowen has, the consequence would be obvious. It’s time for a new DC. Tomorrow.”
O’Connor got his wish, but Bowen always seemed destined to be the fall guy for an underachieving defense. He wasn’t a popular choice to replace former coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale.
The latter was an aggressive and imaginative play-caller who was never shy about sending the blitz. Bowen, by contrast, called a more vanilla game, one that had senior players including sack leader Brian Burns and an All-Pro question the passive approach.
While Bowen’s scheme was a source of frustration, it’s equally true the Giants have been let down by personnel. Players like three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II hasn’t been available in key moments, while 2025 NFL draft third-overall pick Abdul Carter is yet to live up to the billing as a transformative roving pass-rusher.
Now it’s Bullen’s turn to unlock the unfulfilled potential the Giants have on this side of the ball.
New Giants DC Faces Tough Audition
Bullen “is highly thought of in the building,” according to Garafolo’s colleague Tom Pelissero, but the new coordinator faces a daunting audition. Starting with facing the 10-2 New England Patriots and gifted second-year quarterback Drake Maye on Monday Night Football in Week 13.
What the Giants should be able to rely on is their ability to put pressure on Maye off the edges of their front seven. Both Burns and fellow outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux have performed well on Bullen’s watch.
Finding more creative ways to turn the Giants’ talented game-wreckers up front loose will be Bullen’s priority. So will coaxing better discipline in clutch moments from star names.
