Season Grade For Washington Redskins QB Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins had some bad issues down the stretch during the 2016 season. Does his poor performance make him deserve lower grade?
There may be no Redskins harder to grade than Kirk Cousins during the 2016 NFL season. The Washington Redskins quarterback fared well in his second season as a full-time starter, and he flipped between looking like a franchise quarterback and looking like a decent starter. Frankly, he played at an elite level in about 75 percent of the team’s games, but failed to deliver good enough performances in the other 25 percent.
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By the end of the season, Cousins finished with some terrific numbers. He had 4,917 passing yards, good for second in the NFL, and also compiled 29 touchdowns over the course of the year. Four of those came on the ground. In general, when he played well, Cousins showed solid instincts, good decision making, and excellent accuracy. When he played well, he was one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.
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However, the numbers do not tell the whole story. Cousins finished the season on a tough stretch. He led the team to a 1-2 record while having a TD-INT rate of 2-3. That is not a good number, and his performance against the Panthers and against the Giants left a lot to be desired. Despite being in position to take control of their own destiny, in each game Cousins put together a mediocre performance and that led the team to come out flat. At the end of the day, that is the major black mark on Cousins.
Earlier in the season, I gave Cousins a midseason grade of a B. I acknowledged his struggles early in the season, and pointed at his turnaround in the weeks following as a key factor.
"Without Cousins’ improved play, the Redskins offense would likely have more issues. They have failed to establish a consistent running game, but that has not seemed to bother him. He goes out every week and does his job. He gives the team a chance to win.In addition to that, Cousins has been one of the team captains and has done a great job of helping to motivate the team. He is a great leader who does not make too many waves in the media. The team cannot ask for much more than that."
Well, the part about making waves had not entirely been true as of late. Cousins has been talking a bit more about his contract, but that came after the season. He has not let that be a distraction, and that is a plus for him. He has continued to be a solid leader as well, taking responsibility for his poor play.
At the same time, the first five games of the second half of the season saw Cousins continue on his torrid pace and play very well. After the bye week, he played some of his best football. He simply regressed down the stretch a bit.
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For that reason, I will downgrade him a bit. He missed a chance to lead the Redskins to the playoffs. It is by no means solely his fault, but his regression did lead to some troubles for the team. Still, he had a solid season and deserves a similarly solid grade.