Is Kirk Cousins What’s Wrong With The Redskins’ Offense?
The Washington Redskins offense has not been meeting its expectations. Is Kirk Cousins to blame?
The Washington Redskins have dug themselves a deep hole to start off the 2016 NFL season. After getting beaten badly by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, the Skins continued their losing streak with a 27-23 loss to division rival Dallas Cowboys.
Defense was expected to be a problem for this team, like it was last year. However, the defense held their own against the Cowboys and the game was still lost. While the Steelers did score a lot, the Redskins defense was able to withhold them from scoring a point through the first quarter.
Therefore this begs the question, if the defense is preforming at about the level it was expected to, then what’s wrong with the Redskins’ offense?
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After the first game I think most people would’ve said the running game was the issue. However, Matt Jones did rush for 61 yards and a touchdown against Dallas. While these aren’t extraordinary stats, they are pretty solid for an inexperienced back like Jones.
Eliminating the running game as the main problem brings us to the next likely reason for the offensive struggles: Kirk Cousins. People were especially quick to blame Cousins for the loss against Dallas after he threw an interception in the end zone. The Cowboys used that crucial turnover to go on what would eventually become the game winning drive.
It is easy to target Cousins and say that he is the reason for the Redskins’ offensive woes. Over the past two games, he’s thrown only 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. Not only has he put up these unimpressive numbers, but he is doing it despite the team’s elite receiving corps.
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While these numbers are a little unsettling, I believe that people are looking past some of Cousins’ successes too. For example, Cousins is third in the league in passing yards. This shows that he has been able to move the ball down the field, and put the team in a position to score.
The real problem for this offense comes after they’ve been put into that position. The Redskins have a serious issue with scoring touchdowns in the red zone. TeamRankings.com has the Redskins at 28th in the league in red zone touchdown percentage. They have only converted for a touchdown 30% of the time they have made it into the Redskins. They have had to settle for field goals way to often. This problem severely hinders offensive production, as it prevents both the offense and the defense from building a lead and gaining significant momentum.
Cousins will eventually get straightened out and look like he did towards the end of last year. He is not the main problem. The problem is that the Redskins are kicking too many field goals and not getting in the end zone enough. Until this is fixed, look for their struggles to continue.