But our focus is on Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was a central figure for the second consecutive season. He was joined this season by Burrow and Lions quarterback Jared Goff. <\/p>\n
Here are our 10 takeaways from season two of the series:<\/p>\n
1. Last season would have been much different if Cousins had not been allowed to play hurt after the Saints game Nov. 10. He clearly was not healthy and immediately knew it. If the Falcons had sat him for the next game against Denver heading into the bye week, then he would have had nearly three weeks to rest before facing the Chargers.<\/p>\n
Going into the Saints game, he felt fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Achilles healed well, but the ankle itself was still kind of getting strength back,\u201d Cousins said in episode 4. \u201cThe rest of my body, I felt it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hit by Saints defensive end Payton Turner played, with sad music underneath.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot hit in the second quarter, took a helmet right into my shoulder, rib-cage area and immediately my elbow lit up and I knew I\u2019d irritated something,\u201d Cousins said. \u201cHad a shooting pain kind of right through the inside of my elbow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Cousins was shown on the sideline talking to staffers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy elbow got absolutely rocked by a helmet, I mean I\u2019m all right,\u201d Cousins said. \u201cI bruised my elbow pretty good, so it\u2019s going to help me keep it loose throwing. \u2026 We\u2019ll just play catch every now and then.\u201d <\/p>\n
And the laboring over the injury continued:<\/p>\n
\u201cOh man, my elbow hurts,\u201d Cousins said. \u201cOh goodness. \u2026 My shoulder started to really throb. So, I knew right away this is a little more serious. Once I lost my shoulder and my elbow, I didn\u2019t have many more places to lean on to get the power I needed.\u201d <\/p>\n
2. Cousins expressed why he wanted to keep playing hurt \u2014 it was a fear of losing his starting job. The Falcons\u2019 medical staff and the coaching staff can\u2019t let one player hold the team hostage. In retrospect, a healthy Michael Penix Jr., with limited first-team reps, would have given them a better chance to win against the Broncos and Chargers than an injured Cousins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard looking back to not view it as, OK (things) certainly turned in that moment,\u201d Cousins said. \u201cBecause, in a way, they did.\u201d <\/p>\n
No kidding.<\/p>\n
3. There really wasn\u2019t anything new. We knew that Cousins and his agent, Mike McCartney, felt misled by the Falcons and that they were not informed about selecting Penix until the team was on the clock. That was kind of old news, but it was the first time Cousins said it publicly. <\/p>\n