NFC Notes: Kirk Cousins, David Montgomery, Bears, Falcons, Lions

“It’s been frustrating and encouraging,” Williams said, via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “I would say the frustrating part is obviously we’re on a — how many games now, eight? — yeah, eight-game losing streak. Like I’ve said before, it’s new to me. I haven’t experienced anything like this. That’s the frustrating part. The encouraging part is how much we fight as a team.”

“The encouraging part is us as a team … being able to go through all of what’s happened this year. Me not playing well at the beginning of the season and feeling like I was seeing it well and then being able to find ways to keep growing, keep progressing through those times that I was frustrated. Coaches getting fired and all of this stuff going on, 4-10 right now. Being able to wake up, be consistent, do that every day with how it’s been going is encouraging for me. It’s encouraging for this team and we’ve got to keep going. It’s been encouraging but also frustrating for myself.”

Falcons

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson quickly credited the rest of the team when talking about reaching 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career.

“This is a cool achievement, but I think this is for the whole team,” Robinson said, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. “This isn’t something that I have done. It’s the o-line. This is a team-achievement. I thank those guys up front every single day — and Charlie (Woerner), Ross (Dwelley) and Kyle (Pitts) as an extension and the receivers. Without them it would never happen.”

• Falcons HC Raheem Morris on QB Kirk Cousins: “He’s got to play better. We have to find a way to get him to play better. We have to play better at the quarterback position.” (Josh Kendall)
• The Falcons announced they benched Cousins for Michael Penix Jr. on Tuesday. Prior to Atlanta’s announcement, Morris said they were still in the process of deciding whether Cousins would continue starting: “We just got back. We still have to go through that process. All those things will happen over the course of the week. We didn’t play well enough at the quarterback position.” (Josh Kendall)
• Morris mentioned that Cousins has lost some confidence following Week 15’s win over the Raiders and they need to “play better” at quarterback: “There are ways to get it back. That’s our job. That’s everybody’s job. We all need support at some point. We have to play better at that position.” (Kendall)

Lions

The Lions’ injuries continue to pile on, with RB David Montgomery now lost for the season with a torn MCL. Detroit HC Dan Campbell explained how much they will miss Montgomery and their faith in RB Jahmyr Gibbs to handle an expanded workload. 

“He’s just the ultimate teammate,” Campbell said, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s website. “Ultimate competitor. We’re going to miss him. He’s another one of these guys at his position helped us to get where we’re at. The rest of us owe him.”

“We have a lot of confidence in Gibbs. He’s continued to get better and better as the season has gone. Given the opportunity, he’s made a lot of plays. He made some big plays for us (Sunday). He brings an explosive element. He’s getting better in the pass game, and you see what he’s able to do in the run game. We have a ton of confidence (in him).”

• Montgomery will miss the rest of the season after suffering an MCL injury that requires surgery. When speaking to the media, Montgomery said he’s still hopeful to return this season, via Dannie Rogers. 
• Detroit hosted CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver for a workout on Tuesday prior to signing him to their practice squad, per Howard Balzer.