Even though he led the Washington Redskins to the playoffs last season, Kirk Cousins has spent all of this season as the “other” NFC East quarterback. Eli Manning remains Eli, and the Eagles and Cowboys each have exciting young rookies under center. On Sunday night, however, Kirk went toe-to-toe with one of the best quarterbacks in football and looked like every bit his equal. Welcome to Cousins’ star turn, complete with a new Vine.
That is Cousins screaming “How you like me now?!” directly into Washington GM Scot McCloughan’s face, and if it seems a little more intense than just a pure celebration, you’re not alone. Cousins is always an intense dude after wins, but McCloughan refused to commit to Cousins long-term after the QB’s stellar back half of last season, choosing instead to place the franchise tag on him. After some early bumps in the road this year, though, it looks like Cousins may have forced Washington’s hand.
https://twitter.com/JessicaSaxena/status/800575664541880320
https://twitter.com/Amritpal_Bahga/status/800576917627932672
Against the Green Bay Packers’ ravaged secondary, Cousins put up a line of 21-30, 375 yards and three touchdowns, an astounding 12.5 yards per attempt. When his receivers beat their matchups, Kirk hit them in stride with beautiful deep passes. This is a straight-up elite throw, even accounting for the busted coverage:
SO clutch!
On 3rd and 7…@KirkCousins8 drops another dime to Jamison Crowder.53 YARDS. #GBvsWAS https://t.co/MoE6LPiu7s
— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2016
The ‘Skins are 6-3-1, a half game up on the Minnesota Vikings for the second wild card spot. If Cousins has truly arrived as a franchise quarterback, he’s going to need to prove it again over these next few weeks, with tough matchups against the Cowboys, Cardinals and Eagles on the docket. The latter two have a couple of the best defenses in the NFL, and though he’s so far had little problem against the better defenses he’s faced, there’s less margin for error now — and more expectations. That’s the burden of being the franchise QB that Cousins wanted, so now he’s got to own it.
Other Week 11 Winners
Goalposts: NFL kickers missed 12 extra points on Sunday, a record for a single day across the league. For fans used to that seventh point being automatic, all the missed PATs feels like incompetence, and part of it surely is. But this has got to be what the NFL wanted when they pushed the line for extra points back a couple years ago. Less certainty means more drama, and more drama is always good for business in the NFL. It may lose a kicker or two their jobs, but it’s the rare decision from the league office that has played out quite well.
Jason Pierre-Paul: JPP entered the season promising that with another year to recover from his gruesome hand injury, he would be closer to the form that made him a Pro Bowl pass rusher in years past. With 2.5 sacks against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, he’s proved himself right. The Giants’ rebuilt defense has had inconsistencies, but it’s finding its way and had a dominant second half to get New York to a surprising 7-3 record. JPP and Olivier Vernon haven’t quite delivered gaudy sack totals yet, but they’re regularly getting into the backfield to cause chaos on passes and run play. If they start getting home more consistently, the NFL needs to be on notice — the Giants with a pass rush have been (pardon the phrase) giant killers in recent history.
Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes: Even though Sam Bradford isn’t the franchise savior he looked to be after the first month of the season, the Vikings righted the ship against the Cardinals thanks to what has been their main strength all season — their defense. Rhodes took an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, and Smith led the Vikings in tackles and got a key sack late in the fourth quarter. The Vikings’ pass rush is very good, but the star power is in the back end with these two. Rhodes is just a hair short of being a true shutdown corner, but he undeniably makes big plays, and Smith is one of the very best safeties in the game. They may not look capable of beating the cream of the crop in the NFC, but with a defense like theirs, anything is possible.
