It’s common for a quarterback and leader to volunteer blame for a loss, but while there were other gaffes as well – namely a missed 35-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo – such a complete performance by Atlanta makes up for almost all of them In other aspects this may be somewhat superfluous.

As good as Cousins ​​was early in the season, he missed a narrow 17-13 result.

The Falcons defense, last in the league in sacks entering the contest, faced Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert five times and, without tackling running back JK Dobbins, limited Los Angeles’ offense by total allowed only 187 yards. Meanwhile, Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson surpassed the 100 mark on the ground, carrying the ball 26 times for 102 yards and a score. Cousins ​​and Co. totaled 350 yards and had 24 first downs to the Chargers’ 10.

Turnovers — and the scoreboard — are almost the only place the Falcons have lost.

Cousins’ first pick came on a pass that flew too high while leading 7-3 early in the second quarter. At the end of the third quarter, he threw his second throw of the game and second to Tarheeb Still, a boundary pass that was deflected by the rookie and deflected for a pick-six that proved to be the game-winning score.

With one shot left, Cousins ​​instead threw interceptions on both fourth-quarter possessions, a no-chance into triple coverage in the end zone that was deflected by Marcus Maye, and a desperate fourth-and-12 chuck in the third quarter LA territory Derwin James with 47 seconds left.

That marked the end of an ugly performance, Cousins’ first four-interception effort since 2014 and one that brought his TD-to-INT ratio to 0-6 during the team’s three-game skid.

The Falcons are now 6-6 atop the NFC South, but have a razor-thin lead in the final five games of the season compared to the possibility they could pull away a month ago.

Despite Cousins’ struggles, head coach Raheem Morris acknowledged that the path to the playoffs still remains and reiterated his utmost confidence in the veteran quarterback after the loss.

“Kirk was brought here to get us into the playoffs,” Morris said. “… Everything is still right in front of us. We continue to stick to our plan.”

The coach added: “He’s been great for us all season and it’s hard to put pressure on this guy.”

Not to mention, Cousins ​​is still the man trusted to drive the bus, but he needs to do a lot better for the Falcons to get where they ultimately want to go.