Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris didn't pull any punches when it came to the performance of quarterback Kirk Cousins in Monday's 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

"He's got to play better. We have to find a way to get him to play better," Morris said after the game. "We have to play better at the quarterback position."

Cousins finished 11-of-17 for 112 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the victory.

Morris didn't say anything that Falcons fans weren't feeling themselves. Cousins responded to the comments and offered that his coach was "stating the obvious."

Still, it's not often that a coach is this candid about his starting quarterback, especially one with Cousins' seniority and salary.

Entering Monday, the four-time Pro Bowler had gone four straight games without a touchdown pass. Not coincidentally, Atlanta lost all four of those games.

Early into the season, one could excuse Cousins' production a bit by positing he was shaking off the rust from his Achilles tear. He'd need a few weeks to have everything click into gear on the field.

Here we are coming off Week 15 and Cousins has actually gotten worse. His 15 interceptions are the most in the NFL and he has his lowest passer rating (89.0) as a full-time starter. His 7.02 adjusted yards per attempt are his second-lowest as a starter as well, per Pro Football Reference.

For this, the 36-year-old is earning an average salary of $45 million.

The Falcons might be sitting at .500 (7-7), but that's still good enough to be second in the NFC South and only one game behind the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Throwing a rookie quarterback into the middle of a playoff race wouldn't be ideal. Michael Penix Jr. has thrown five attempts across two appearances as a rookie.

It's hard to see how Penix could be much worse than this version of Cousins, though, and if he is, then Atlanta has a different problem on its hands.

Despite his postgame comments, it doesn't sound like Morris is on the verge of benching Cousins. But the Falcons are increasingly getting to a point where the only question is whether the QB change happens this year or heading into the 2025 campaign.