Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta is a contender in the weak NFC South despite another shaky performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​that turned the Falcons into a run-first team.

An ugly 15-9 win at the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night left the Falcons 7-7 and one game behind Tampa Bay in the division.

The Falcons hold a tiebreaker lead with the Buccaneers, which prompted coach Raheem Morris to say after the game, “That’s where you want to be.”

The win came as Cousins ​​only passed for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He gave a somber review of his trip when he said: “It’s not the place I want to be.”

Cousins ​​came into the game with no touchdown passes and eight interceptions in the last four games. He ended his touchdown drought with a 30-yard scoring pass to Drake London in the first quarter, but was unable to build on that high and added his league-leading 16th interception.

The Raiders (2-12) are tied for the worst record in the league with the New York Giants, who brought a nine-game losing streak to Atlanta on Sunday. The Falcons then face a difficult game at Washington (9-5) before concluding their regular season at home against Carolina (3-11).

Morris said last week he didn’t want to rush rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who only appeared in two games and didn’t play against Las Vegas.

Morris said sticking with Cousins ​​has “nothing to do with disbelief” in Penix. “But he’s a freshman and we have a plan and we had a plan from the beginning about how we wanted to utilize our freshman and how we wanted to play when the time came.”

Morris also said other coaches “pulled the trigger and sent guys out too early, and it went terribly, right? And I don’t want to be that guy.”

Cousins, 36, signed a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason before Penix was selected No. 8 overall in the NFL draft. Morris said the Falcons never wavered from their belief that Penix was their future starter.

The constant question for Morris: When does this future begin?

What works

Thanks to Bijan Robinson’s career-high 125 rushing yards, Atlanta beat Las Vegas 168-65.

After the Falcons took the lead in the first quarter on Cousins’ only touchdown pass, Atlanta relied heavily on its running game. Robinson had 22 of the Falcons’ 37 carries. Tyler Allgeier added 12 carries for 43 yards. Atlanta averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Robinson now has 1,102 rushing yards in his first 1,000-yard season. He has surpassed the 100-yard mark in three of the last five games. He had 20 or more carries in four of the last five games after reaching that total in just one of the first nine games.

What needs help

The Falcons’ reluctance to pass allowed the Raiders to tighten up the defensive front and pressure Cousins ​​in obvious passing situations. The limited passing game removed play-action passes from Atlanta’s game plan.

There were few options at wide receiver. Darnell Mooney had no catches on one target. London’s three catches came on his only three targets. Ray-Ray McCloud had one catch on three targets.

Stock up

With three games left, linebacker Kaden Elliss has a career-high 124 tackles after leading Atlanta with 11 stops against the Raiders. It was the fourth game in a row and the eighth overall this season. Elliss led the Falcons in tackles.

Elliss had his fourth sack of the season. The Falcons’ late-season pass-rush surge continued with four sacks, including the first two of the season by outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone. Atlanta had at least four sacks in three straight games.

Inventory reduced

Cousins ​​appeared to be late on some throws, perhaps an indication that his trouble intercepting has damaged his confidence.

Despite Morris’s continued expressions of confidence in Cousins, the theater call tells a different story.

Perhaps most telling was that Cousins ​​had few opportunities to pass. He completed just 11 of 17 passes as the Falcons kept the ball on the ground.

Injuries

After placing LB Troy Andersen on IR before the game with a left knee injury, the Falcons had to leave LB Nate Landman with a neck injury before returning in the third quarter.

Key number

4: Punter Bradley Pinion helped Atlanta dominate the battle for field position. Pinion had four punts inside the 10, including two inside the 5.

Next Steps

The Falcons return home to play the reeling Giants on Sunday. The Giants tied their franchise record with their ninth straight loss in Sunday’s 35-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

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

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