MINNEAPOLIS — Kirk Cousins was determined not to overreact.

The Falcons quarterback showed up around 9 a.m. CT at U.S. Bank Stadium, which had been his home stadium for the six previous seasons. He got off one of the Falcons’ team buses, went through security with the rest of his teammates, spoke with one of the security guards and walked with his team the length of the field to the visitors locker room. Cousins came out onto the field a short time later and went through his normal warmup at his normal time. A creature of routine and habit, he was not here for a feel-good reunion.

He and the Falcons came in on a three-game losing streak during which they’d seen their division lead fritter away. The game started fine for Atlanta, as Cousins led a strong opening drive that culminated in a Tyler Allgeier touchdown run. And overall, Cousins didn’t play that poorly; going 23-for-37 for 344 yards against the Vikings’ defense is no small feat. But he did throw two interceptions, and for the fourth game in a row he failed to throw a touchdown pass. The Falcons’ defense fell apart in a 42-21 loss that dropped Atlanta to 6-7 and into second place in the NFC South.

Meanwhile, Cousins’ old Minnesota team is now led by Sam Darnold, who threw a whopping five touchdown passes Sunday. The Vikings are 11-2 and a game behind the first-place Lions in the outstanding NFC North division. So while Cousins might not have wanted to make a big deal out of his return to Minnesota, we are definitely starting Week 14 overreactions — where we judge a few potential takeaways as legitimate or irrational — with it.

Jump to:
Vikings better off without Cousins?
Titans need to move on from Levis?
Panthers should give Young another year?
Seahawks’ Smith will get an extension?
Rams will be a dangerous NFC playoff team?

The Vikings made the right call moving on from Cousins

Cousins didn’t want to leave Minnesota, and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t really want to lose him. But it came down to the Vikings not wanting to guarantee as much money as the Falcons did to a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a major season-ending injury. So Cousins went to Atlanta on a massive deal, while the Vikings signed Darnold as a bridge quarterback and drafted J.J. McCarthy from Michigan in the first round. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, which meant Darnold was going to have to be a seasonlong bridge. He has responded with a brilliant season that has positioned Minnesota as one of the top teams in the league.

Cousins, meanwhile, finds himself on a four-game losing streak at the worst possible time of the season and looking over his shoulder at rookie Michael Penix Jr., whom the Falcons shockingly selected with the eighth pick in the draft just a few weeks after signing Cousins. Over the past four games, Cousins has zero touchdown throws and eight interceptions.

Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

It’s not easy to cut ties with a player who has performed well and ingratiated himself into the team culture and surrounding community. The Vikings did it because they knew they were going to have to think about the long-term future. Darnold, a 27-year-old reclamation project who spent last season as a backup in San Francisco, appealed to O’Connell because of his talent and youth. And McCarthy was selected to be the long-term answer.

Regardless of the way this season turned out, pivoting to the future was always the right way for the Vikings to go. It just so happens that it has gone extremely well for Minnesota so far and not so well for Atlanta. There’s still plenty of time for the Falcons to turn it around. Heck, these two teams could meet again in the playoffs, and the Falcons could beat the Vikings there. If Atlanta gets in, it’ll be as a division champ, which means it could have a home game against a team that finishes five or six games better in the standings. But based on what we’ve seen to this point, we have to say the Vikings made the right call here.

Atlanta is not planning to bench Cousins for Penix. The Falcons’ coaching staff has said it over and over again, and coach Raheem Morris said it again after Sunday’s game. But it seems pretty likely the Falcons are going to need an exit strategy for Cousins after this season, and they might not get what they imagined they would out of that signing in the meantime.

The Titans will be in the QB market again this offseason

Second-year quarterback Will Levis has been up and down — and occasionally injured — but the new coaching staff under Brian Callahan wanted to give him this season to show them whether he could be their QB of the future. A second-round pick in 2023 under the previous coaching staff, Levis got a clean slate with Callahan & Co. and had been playing a bit better in recent weeks.

But on Sunday, he got a home game against one of the worst pass defenses in the league and laid an egg, throwing for 168 yards on 19-of-32 passing with no touchdowns. The Titans suffered a heinous 10-6 loss to the Jaguars. Levis suffered a shoulder injury on the final play of the first half, and that might have affected him in the second half, but it obviously wasn’t serious enough to prevent him from playing. (And it’s not like he was lighting up the scoreboard prior to that, either.) The Titans are 3-10 and bound for a very high draft pick, and there will be QB questions to be answered.

Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

You can’t say the Callahan regime didn’t give Levis a chance. Back in September, Callahan could be seen screaming at Levis following a boneheaded turnover — the type of which he seemed to be making regularly that cost the team games. The pair has progressed from there, and Callahan has spoken with pride in recent weeks about Levis’ improvement. But the continued inconsistency, the off-target throws, the turnover-worthy plays and the inability to take advantage of an opportunity to put any points on the board against a team such as the Jaguars all point to the idea that he’s not the answer.

Tennessee’s record might put Callahan in position to select the quarterback he wants in next year’s draft, or the Titans could look for solutions via trade and free agency. And there’s enough evidence at this point to convince us that’s the way to go.

Bryce Young will be the Panthers’ Week 1 starter in 2025

The Panthers lost Sunday, and they’re 3-10 — but the loss was to the Eagles in Philadelphia. Not exactly a lot of shame in that, given that the Eagles have been one of the hottest teams in the NFL on both sides of the ball.

Carolina had a 16-14 lead going into the fourth quarter, and even after the Eagles reclaimed the lead, Young led the Panthers on a final drive that looked for a brief moment like it had won the game. Xavier Legette appeared to catch the ball in the end zone on second down with 52 seconds left, but it turned out to be an incomplete pass, and the Panthers fell short on third and fourth downs.

It was a strong effort by Young, who was benched earlier this season for veteran Andy Dalton and only got his job back after Dalton was injured in a car accident. He has five touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown against two interceptions over his past five games, which include two of the team’s three wins. It’s nothing dazzling, but it’s definite improvement from where the 2023 first overall pick was at this time last season — or even earlier this season.

Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

There’s no way to predict what Panthers owner David Tepper will do. The record is still going to be atrocious, and there are a number of quarterbacks — Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Drake Maye, C.J. Stroud, etc. — who have been drafted since the Panthers took Young who have played a lot better than he has (even during this stretch). But Young is showing toughness, resolve and the ability to fix his mistakes. First-year head coach Dave Canales has already lasted longer than Young’s first coach, Frank Reich, did last season. At some point, Tepper has to stick with a plan and trust the people he put in place to execute it.

There’s nothing wrong with looking around, or even bringing in a little competition for Young in camp next offseason. But given what the Panthers traded to move up to select him just 20 months ago, it’s worth firing it up again next season to see if the improvement he’s showing right now is real, and whether it can continue. Don’t rule out the possibility that Young gets another year in Carolina to show what he can do.

Geno Smith is going to get a contract extension from the Seahawks this offseason

Smith and the Seahawks beat the Cardinals on Sunday for the second time in three weeks to take something resembling control of the NFC West race. They still have to hold off the Rams, but the Seahawks have won four games in a row coming out of their bye and are playing as consistent as any team in the division. Smith was a cool 24-for-30 for 233 yards and a touchdown in this one, as Seattle rode a balanced offensive attack that featured 176 yards on the ground.

Smith entered Sunday night first in the NFL in passing yards (3,474) and fifth in completion rate (69.5%). He has steadily played like one of the top 10 or so quarterbacks in the league since taking over as the starter following the trade of Russell Wilson to the Broncos in 2022. And now Smith has one year left on his contract and is scheduled to earn a nonguaranteed $25 million in salary and bonuses in 2025.

Verdict: OVERREACTION

This is not about Smith, who has played above his contract and deserves an extension. This is more about the Seahawks and their philosophy on how much of the salary cap should be allocated to the quarterback position. The entire reason Smith had the chance to become the starter in Seattle was because the team knew Wilson was going to be looking for another big extension, and it didn’t want to give it to him at his age (33 at the time of the trade). Well, Smith is 34 years old, and while he has played very well for the Seahawks and they’re very happy with him, I believe there is a limit to what they’d want to pay him on a long-term extension.

A lot could depend on how the rest of this season goes, including how far the Seahawks advance in the playoffs. Success on that level increases anyone’s value, and I’m sure Seattle is very much open to the idea of extending Smith on a relatively short-term deal that doesn’t crush them against the cap. But we can’t assume it will happen. Seattle has poked around on quarterbacks in the first round of each of the past two drafts and knows at some point it will have to invest in the future at the position.

No one is going to want to face the Rams in the NFC playoffs

The Bills were as hot as anybody heading into Week 14, riding a seven-game win streak and having just clinched their fifth straight division title with a snowy victory over the 49ers last Sunday night. But the Rams beat them in one of the wildest games of the year, racking up 457 yards of offense and holding on for a 44-42 victory in Los Angeles.

Both teams exceeded 100 rushing yards and 300 passing yards, and neither had a turnover. Bonkers game, but the point is the Rams won it. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes, while running back Kyren Williams had two touchdown runs. Receiver Puka Nacua had another Madden-esque stat line of 12 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown, lugging countless fantasy teams into their league playoffs. The Rams blocked a punt and ran it back for a touchdown, too.

The Rams are now 7-6, one game behind Seattle in the division race and one game behind Washington in the wild-card race. They’ve beaten the Vikings, Seahawks and Bills. Two of those teams are in first place in their respective divisions, and the other one is 11-2. The Rams have a coach and a quarterback who’ve won a Super Bowl, and their offense is healthy and getting hot at the right time.

Verdict: OVERREACTION

C’mon. I love Sean McVay’s coaching as much as the next guy, but this is a team that just gave up 42 points to a team that ran only 54 plays in the game! It’s the signature win that stamps them as a legit NFC playoff contender, and they gave up 0.78 points per play? I guess you can say that because of their offense, the Rams are never out of it. But they’re going to have to show they can stop somebody before I’m believing they’re a threat to win road playoff games in places such as Philadelphia, Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay. (The Rams have lost to the Eagles, Lions and Packers this season, by the way.)

The Rams aren’t even assured of making the playoffs, much less making noise in them. They’re good, and they’re fun, but they’re short on the defensive side of the ball. That keeps them from being overly scary to the rest of the NFC field.