Four things to watch out for in week 15

• WHERE: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
• WHEN: 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes, NFL+

1) Atlanta needs Cousins ​​back on track. The Falcons remain in contention for the NFC South crown but haven’t looked like a division-winning team in the past four weeks — a stretch in which they’ve lost all four of their games by a combined 60 points, including being doubled up by the Vikings last week. Much of the trouble over that span can be attributed to the regression of Kirk Cousins, who has zero touchdown passes and eight interceptions in that span. It is the first time in his career that he has had four consecutive games with a passer rating of less than 80.0, with seven total such outings in 13 starts this year. Before then, Cousins ​​had a 17-7 TD-INT ratio, but now he leads the league in picks. The struggles have been notable enough that head coach Raheem Morris has now had to decide whether to continue to start Cousins ​​after the last two games, opting to stand behind his QB despite the presence of rookie Michael Penix Jr. in the wings. This isn’t the Falcons’ only issue they need to improve on if they want to get back into the win column, much less overtake the Buccaneers in the race over the last four weeks. But it starts with the play of their veteran quarterback, and this week could be a make-or-break opportunity with questions already swirling.

2) Vegas’ QB situation is unknown. Injuries have not been kind to the Raiders this season, with the latest blow coming in the form of Max Crosby‘s season-ending ankle surgery. And there’s another injury story that bears watching as Monday’s game approaches, as the Raiders could have to sit out their third starting quarterback of the season. Aidan O’Connell is the latest QB to deal with injuries after suffering a bone bruise in his knee during last week’s game. The injury initially appeared considerably more serious, but even still O’Connell has missed all three practices this week and is doubtful to play. O’Connell’s season has been up and down and has taken over after Gardner Minshew‘s benching, saw his thumb and then return to his QB1 role the last two games, though he has an 0-4 record in his starts. It’s looking less and less likely that his injury will allow him to play this week, but if he does, it will give him a much-needed chance to lead his team to a victory. But if he is unable to walk, so be it Desmond Knight at the helm where the QB comes in with personal history with the Falcons. Ridder played with Atlanta the last two years, starting 13 games in 2023. He went 6-7 with 2,836 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and was benched several times by then-head coach Arthur Smith. He was ultimately traded to the Cardinals following Cousins’ signing, then cut and signed by Las Vegas prior to the regular season. If O’Connell is now unable to play, he may get an opportunity to show his stuff to his new team and his old one. We’ll likely have to wait until right before game time to know if it will be O’Connell or Ridder who gets the start, but either QB’s performance will be worth paying close attention to.