Redskins Grades: Kirk Cousins vs the Atlanta Falcons
By Chris West
Oct 11, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) greets Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) after the Falcons defeated the Redskins in overtime at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons won 25-19 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Overtime
The Redskins win the coin flip and elect to receive in overtime. Cousins throws a quick out to Crowder for five yards to begin the final period. Thompson runs for a yard and Cousins follows that up with a throw to him for five yards and a first down. +3pts.
Crowder gets loose on a crossing route and Cousins hits him for a 16 yard catch and run and another first down at the 48 yard line. Cousins throws incomplete to Andre Roberts but offsetting penalties makes them replay the down. Morris runs for two yards on first down. +2pts.
With a second down and 8 from the 50 yard line, Cousins fails to account for a free rusher coming from his left by sliding his offensive line protection and is forced to throw quickly to Grant who according to Jay Gruden was “running an 8-9 yard stop route.” As Grant turns to the inside, he sees Cousins pass going to his outside and the sideline and slips in an attempt to get to the errant pass.
As most Redskins fans know by now, Alford intercepts Cousins for the second time in the game. This time he ends the game by returning the interception for a touchdown and a 25-19 win for Atlanta. -5pts.
Cousins scores 0 points on 4 graded plays for a 0.00 rating in overtime. Cousins accuracy was off for the entire game. As Bullock of the post pointed out, it was due to bad form on many of his throws. For the game Cousins totals 24 points on 36 graded plays for a 0.67 rating.
Cousins statistics aren’t terrible except for his two interceptions but he primarily threw the ball within five yards of the line of scrimmage. He will need to get the ball further down the field to keep defenses from stacking the box with eight or nine defenders in order to stifle the Redskins run game.
Desean Jackson is set to return this Sunday when the Redskins travel to New York to face the Jets. Cousins completed only 3 passes out of 11 attempts for 56 yards and 2 costly interceptions on passes that traveled more than 7 yards past the line of scrimmage versus the Falcons and Jackson should help him improve on those numbers.