Kirk Cousins, Washington Showing Signs of Another Late-Season Playoff Surge

It happened right around this time last year.

As we reached the middle of November, the Washington Redskins were 3-5, and their relatively new starting quarterback, Kirk Cousins, was one of the NFL’s lowest-rated qualified passers. There wasn’t a lot of hope for a quarterback drafted to be a career backup or a team that had won just 10 games in two and a half seasons. 

That’s when Cousins and his team flipped a switch. He had a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a four-touchdown performance as Washington destroyed the New Orleans Saints 47-14 on Nov. 15, and he went on to post triple-digit passer ratings in six of Washington’s final seven games as the team lost just twice in the final eight weeks.

During that second half, Cousins was the NFL’s highest-rated passer as Washington came back to easily win the NFC East.

So I guess it shouldn’t surprise us that Cousins and his team are again turning it on as we reach mid-November. 

Prior to their Week 10 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 13, Washington hadn’t won in nearly a month. At 4-3-1, the boys in burgundy were trying to hold off the Philadelphia Eagles in order to stay out of the division basement. Cousins ranked 18th among qualified quarterbacks with an uninspiring passer rating of 93.1.

Both Cousins and his team looked good, not great. And then the fifth-year Michigan State product completed 22 of 33 passes and posted a 110.9 passer rating against one of the league’s highest-ranked defenses as Washington beat the Minnesota Vikings 26-20. And one week later, Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, in the face of severe wind, Cousins completed all but nine of his 30 passes for 375 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a statement 42-24 victory. 

The …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com