Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer, Falcons' Kirk Cousins ready for post-Vikings reunion; QB calls insight 'overrated'

Dallas' Mike McCarthy said seeing a former QB play well gives a sense of pride

FRISCO, Texas -- So much of an NFL head coach's success, and in large part their career, is tied to the production of their starting quarterback. That's why the head coach-quarterback relationship is one that is magnified above seemingly all others.

It's also why the Week 9 showdown between the 3-4 Dallas Cowboys and the 5-3 Atlanta Falcons, who are in first place in the NFC South, isn't just a regular midseason matchup. Sunday afternoon will also serve as the first on-field reunion between former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer -- now the Cowboys defensive coordinator -- and former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins -- now the Falcons starting quarterback. Both sides possess plenty of insight about how the other operates after seeing each other every day in practice for four seasons from 2018-2021. Zimmer noted Cousins is operating out of the pistol formation more often than ever, on 32.3% of the Falcons offensive plays -- the highest such rate in the NFL -- to compensate for his limited mobility in his first year back from an Achilles tear. 

"Well, Kirk's got a pretty good knowledge of me too, went against us [him and his defense] every day," Zimmer said on Monday. "He's very, very accurate. He takes good care of the football. Very smart to be able to get in and out of plays. I know he had the Achilles [injury] last year. So they're using him a little bit more from the pistol than they were before. He's always had a really good long ball, he's always been very accurate. He's not going to move around as much ... but he's a good player."  

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is familiar with facing his longtime starting quarterback. He faced Aaron Rodgers after spending 13 seasons together with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2018. McCarthy's Cowboys battled Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 10 of the 2022 season, a contest that was a homecoming for the Dallas head coach. Rodgers outdueled McCarthy and his new pupil Dak Prescott by throwing for 224 and three touchdowns on 14 of 20 passing in a 31-28 overtime win that involved erasing a 28-14 deficit in the fourth quarter. McCarthy admitted there's a sense of pride and happiness for your former partner in crime at the quarterback position upon seeing them succeed with a different coaching environment. Just not when directly going toe to toe. 

"Just hope he [Cousins] doesn't play really well because that was my experience," McCarthy said Wednesday talking about his reunion with Rodgers. "I don't think Aaron missed a throw that night. I think the biggest thing is, you know them better than probably any player that you worked with in the last five, 10 years, or however long your relationship was. There's a sense of pride to see them play the way they play. But at the end of the day, we're competing. It's the same for everybody. I'm sure both will be competing, and then the personal part is the personal part. I don't know much about their relationship. It was good to have that moment with former players."

It's been Kirktober in Atlanta since Week 5 as he has played like a top 10 quarterback in terms of completion percentage (71.1%, fifth in the NFL), passing yards (1,242, most in the NFL), yards per pass attempt (8.2, eighth in the NFL), passing touchdowns (10, third), passer rating (109.0, fifth) and expected points added per play (0.23, fourth). Cousins himself called his knowledge of Zimmer and vice versa "overrated" as he prepares to going up against Cowboys 31st-ranked scoring defense (28.3 points per game) that is injury-plagued and still adjusting to a scheme Dallas Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs said players are still "getting used to." That could spell trouble for Zimmer and Co. in the reunion on Sunday.

"I think that [the information they have on each other] will kind of be overrated if you will," Cousins said on Wednesday. "I think his scheme is so sound, I don't think there's much you can extract there. He's been around the league for so long and is so respected. Has had a scheme that gives people problems for so long. I don't think there's too much from having worked together that would make much difference."

Dallas nickel corner Jourdan Lewis concurred with Cousins while saying knowledge is one thing but execution on Sunday is another. 

"We always watch film, but honestly having a head coach that coached a guy like Kirk and some of the things he's good at, understanding some of those things helps," Lewis said Wednesday. "But at times, we got to go out there execute it. We haven't been with Kirk, so we have to go out there and defend those guys. Hopefully we can stop Kirk, get pressure on him and different things like that, but we still have to go out there and execute regardless of who knows who."

One hope the Cowboys can have is that they are not the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Eight of Cousins' 14 touchdown passes this season have come in two games against their NFC South rival, and he has played mediocre football overall in the six non-Buccaneers games this season. 

Kirk Cousin This Season	Vs. Buccaneers	Vs. All Other Teams
W-L	2-0	3-3
Comp Pct	75%	65%
Pass YPG	392.5	220.2
TD-INT	8-1	6-6
Passer Rating	127.8	83.6

Even if Cousins struggles against the Cowboys, which is possible given his 2-9 record against Dallas is the worst by a starting quarterback against them all time, minimum 10 starts, Zimmer will have to deal with his ascending backfield mate in running back Bijan Robinson. Through eight games, Robinson ranks fourth in the entire league in yards from scrimmage (784) and fourth in receiving yards (238) among running backs. Dallas is the NFL's second-worst run defense (154.6 rushing yards per game allowed), just mere decimal points ahead of the 1-7 Carolina Panthers, and they specifically struggle against what Robinson excels at: under center runs. Robinson has registered a 57.6% success rate on under center runs this season, the highest rate among 36 running backs with at least 30 such carries, per NFL Pro Insights. The Cowboys have allowed the most touchdowns on under center runs (11) and surrender the second-highest success rate (49.3%)  against under center runs in the NFL this season. 

The narrative might be about Zimmer vs. Cousins, but if the Dallas defensive coordinator can't slow down Robinson, it won't matter what Cousins does on Sunday afternoon.