Cards, Falcons riding backup QBs down stretch of frustrating seasons

Neither the Atlanta Falcons nor the Arizona Cardinals have the record they thought they would have at this point of the season.

Ahead of their meeting in Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday, the teams are also not using the starting quarterbacks they assumed they would have.

Atlanta (5-9) is led by 37-year-old Kirk Cousins, who is making his sixth start of the season in relief of Michael Penix Jr., who sustained a season-ending partially torn ACL on Nov. 16.

Cousins, who could be in his final set of games with the franchise, is playing for pride along with an Atlanta team that will miss its eighth straight postseason.

"Any time you get the chance to play, it's an opportunity," Cousins said of making the most of the final three weeks. "You feel like you need to play at a level that justifies you being out there. I would hesitate to say I need to prove something. It's more about this being a privilege to be out there."

Cousins threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns in the Falcons' 29-28 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 11.

For Arizona, Jacoby Brissett is slated to make his 10th start since Kyler Murray's foot injury opened the door for the 33-year-old veteran.

"Obviously Brissett has been doing it for such a long time in this league and is the ultimate pro," Atlanta coach Raheem Morris said. "He's a really good football player and always has always been. He really is the ultimate backup in this league, and he's been that for a long time."

The Falcons have lost five in a row at Arizona, including a wild-card playoff defeat in January 2009, and are searching for their first road victory in the series since Sept. 30, 2001.

Arizona (3-11) will miss its ninth postseason in 10 years and has double-digit losses for the third time in the past four seasons. With looming offseason question marks about Murray's future with the team, Brissett hopes to lead the Cardinals to their first home win since a five-point triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.

"At some point, you just want it to stop," Brissett said of the team's six-game losing streak. "It definitely gets hard, but you've just got to rely on the guys in the locker room. The only thing you can do is rely on the process and find ways to tweak things and try to get better."

Arizona can match its longest single-season skid since losing the last seven of the 2022 campaign. Coach Jonathan Gannon is 15-33 in nearly three years at the helm. Through a dismal season, Gannon isn't worried about persuading management to extend his leash for the 2026 season.

"There's no pitch (to ownership). I'm concentrating on Atlanta," Gannon said. "I believe in myself and I believe in our team. We are in a dip right now and we're going through some adversity. It's my job to evaluate everything and see what's working and what's not. ... I'm concentrating on Atlanta, but I do have to have some foresight as I'm taking notes on how this year has gone."

Atlanta could see the return of leading receiver Drake London, who missed the past four games with a knee injury. London practiced in a limited basis on Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes (ankle) and edge rusher Leonard Floyd (illness) were non-participants on Wednesday.

On a lengthy Arizona injury report, left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (knee) and safety Jalen Thompson (hamstring) were ruled out for the Atlanta game. Cornerbacks Darren Hall (concussion) and Max Melton (heel) didn't practice on Wednesday. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who missed the previous two games due to a heel injury, did limited work on Wednesday.

--Field Level Media