The Washington Redskins currently sit atop the abysmal NFC East. They, as well as the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, sport a record of 6-7.
The win-loss record that Washington possesses isn’t overly impressive, but I still believe that the unit deserves praise. Prior to the start of the season, I didn’t think that the Redskins would be in the playoff mix, and a big reason for that is because I underestimated Kirk Cousins and his ability as a quarterback.
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I didn’t see Cousins as the long-term answer in Washington, I just didn’t. I was probably as low on Cousins as anybody was, honestly. I didn’t trust his ability to run the offense, and was scared off by his questionable passes and high interception totals. I wasn’t sold on his arm strength, and I wasn’t sure if he had the competitive edge to be the leader on offense.
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Fast forward three-plus months and he has proven, for the most part, that he’s more than capable of doing all of those things. His ability to run the offense is far greater than I expected. He looks comfortable in the pocket, and has vastly improved his decision making. And while he still makes a questionable throw every now and again, I firmly believe that his football IQ has grown with every start that he has received.
As of now, his completion percentage is tops in the league at 69.2%, meaning he’s connected on 314 of his 454 passes on the year. A lot of that has to do with his decision making in the pocket, as he rarely forces the ball into areas that he shouldn’t. That’s not to say that he doesn’t make ill-advised throws at times because he definitely does, but he does so sparingly.
His completion percentage benefits from his pass selection, as a majority of his passes are out his hands quickly and thrown underneath the opposing coverage. His selection of short to intermediate passes bodes very well for him and the offense. Cousins ability to get the ball out quickly has played a big role in the lack of sacks that he has taken this season – he has been taken down behind the line of scrimmage a total of 23 times this year, which puts him right in the middle of the pack with a sack rate of 4.8%.
The 27-year-old quarterback has done very well for himself, and is on the verge of breaking a number of team records in the passing game, as his completion percentage is the highest in team history for any passer with at least 400 passing attempts. With 3,306 yards on the year, Cousins is only 803 yards shy of breaking Jay Schroeder‘s single season yardage record. He’ll need at least one more big game to do so, as his average of 254.3 yards per game would leave him about 40 yards shy of the record.
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In addition to his record breaking pace for yards and completion percentage, he’s also thrown for 18 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. On top of that, Cousins has been effective on the ground, as he’s scampered into the end zone four times this season. His combination of passing skills and athleticism, in my opinion, makes him a good option for the team moving forward.
Whether or not he breaks team passing records isn’t important, though. What’s truly important for Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins is how he and the team perform over the last three games of the season. If he can manage to lead the team to a playoff birth, his standing in the eyes of the coaching staff and fans will undoubtedly improve, as would the numbers on his looming contract.