24. Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
Despite all the losing, the Arizona Cardinals are sticking with Jacoby Brissett. And I really don't blame them for it. Even though they got blown out by the Seahawks and 49ers in consecutive weeks, they continued to roll with Brissett against the Jaguars, and it almost paid off for them.
The Cardinals just can't close out games these days, and they blew a 300-yard passing performance from Brissett. If there was any running game to really speak of for the Cardinals, maybe things would be different. Brissett shouldn't be out there throwing the ball 49 times a game, but he is.
If you're putting your backup out there to jumpstart the offense, you're already in a rough spot. But for the Arizona Cardinals, the pivot to Brissett is a signal-fire of major things to come this offseason.
23. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
It had to feel good for Kirk Cousins to finally come back and play a really solid all-around game. After all that's transpired over the last two years, this was the type of game that Cousins needed. Not that it means much in the long run, but now that Cousins is taking over for the remainder of the regular season, you could see that he was much more settled in out there against the Saints.
He had a pair of touchdown passes along with an interception, but it was much better than we've seen in recent appearances for Cousins overall. And what's impressive is that he put together this performance without Drake London out there.
Cousins might be relegated to high-end backup types of contracts in the offseason, but if he's going to keep playing after this year, this is his audition opportunity.