Kirk Cousins, on a career-worst pace for interceptions, owns up to mistakes

Following coach Mike Zimmer's subdued news conference at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, quarterback Kirk Cousins met with reporters to talk about his three-interception game in the Vikings' 40-23 loss to the Falcons.

On a day where his first pass went to Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones and three of his first 14 ended up in the Falcons' hands, Cousins faced the public with little to do but own up to the defeat.

"It was not good enough, especially in the first half, and I'll take the responsibility for it," he said.

When Zimmer was asked during his news conference if he'd given any thought to pulling Cousins from the game, he simply said, "No."

A reporter posited the coach's comment might have been a vote of confidence for Cousins, but instead of accepting that premise, the quarterback turned the focus back on himself.

"You know what, you just have to play well in this business," he said. "The reality is if the pace I'm on in terms of the interceptions, if that were to continue, I won't finish the season."

His first interception, which Cousins called his worst of the day, mirrored the one he threw to K.J. Wright the week before, when the Seahawks linebacker undercut a throw for Justin Jefferson. Against the Falcons, it was Jones dropping in a zone and picking off a pass that Cousins said he forced; five Falcons defenders were within several yards of Jefferson when Jones intercepted the ball.

Cousins' financial security and the Vikings' lack of experience behind him (Sean Mannion's start in the Vikings' trivial Week 17 game last year was just the second of his career) creates something of a buffer between the quarterback and the bench. That Cousins raised the possibility Sunday, though, is worth noting, given the fact it comes at a point where quarterbacks are throwing fewer interceptions than ever.

According to Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks entered Sunday having been intercepted on just 2.2% of their passes. That mark was on pace to surpass the mark set in 2016 and equaled in 2019 (2.3%) as the lowest in league history.

Nine of the 10 full seasons with the lowest interception percentage came in the 2010s, and in 2019, a record nine quarterbacks — including Cousins — threw interceptions on 1.5% or fewer of their passes.

It all makes the fact Cousins has thrown an NFL-high 10 interceptions in six games more alarming. He already has tied his 2018 season for his most interceptions in Minnesota, and is only three away from matching his career high of 13 for Washington in 2017.

The Vikings gave up 40 points at home for the second time this season after having never done so in Zimmer's first six seasons. No team can overcome turnovers consistently, and in the Vikings' past two games their five giveaways have resulted in 31 points.

Curiosity around the Zimmer/Cousins relationship piqued after the Vikings' loss to the Titans, when the coach said he expected the team's veteran offense to go win the game in the final minutes and called its final drive "chaos," to which Cousins responded, "You'll have to ask Coach specifically what he meant." He later added, "Any time you have almost 500 yards of offense and score almost 30 points, you're doing something correct."

On Sunday, there was more resignation in Zimmer's voice, while Cousins absorbed blame for a loss as directly as he's ever done.

The two men were given new contracts in the offseason; Zimmer's runs through 2023, while Cousins' deal includes prohibitive costs for letting the quarterback go before his contract runs out in 2022.