Week 4, not Week 3, was Kirk Cousins’ best game of the season

Kirk Cousins had quite a game last week. At home against the Raiders, he went 25 of 30 for 365 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite the gaudy stats, however, Week 3 wasn’t his best performance yet. Week 4 was.

Statistics do a good job of summarizing a respective player’s performance on the field. But there are some things that can’t simply be measured with general statistics. For this reason, Kirk Cousins‘ game in Week 3 might seem better than the game he had in Week 4. But in reality, he just keeps improving. His visual play on the field is evidence of that.

While the rest of the team was inconsistent throughout, Cousins was the steady constant he’s being paid to be at the quarterback position. The sixth-year pro out of Michigan State was as fundamentally sound as he’s ever been on Monday night. He showed no signs of crumbling under pressure when faced with a persistent Chiefs’ pass rush.

In a clean pocket, he delivered quickly, and when being attacked by rushers, he either got the ball out quickly and decisively, or he took it himself and made the defense pay for leaving his sneaky speed unaccounted for. He ended the night as the team’s leading rusher, and while that is a partial indictment of the inconsistent running game, it can also be considered a testament to how far Cousins has come since the beginning of the season. His play looks more and more polished each week.

On Monday, it wasn’t necessarily the stats that stood out. It was how Cousins played, the confidence he played with, and the position he put his team in. When faced with the weight of a crumbling offensive line, Cousins didn’t panic and lose sight of the play, like he has in the past. He stepped up and kept his eyes downfield, showing an awareness of the inclemency around him, but also an awareness of the need to keep the play alive.

And with all this on his mind, each thought buzzing at a million miles per hour, he was calm. He was collected. And he was crisp with his throws. He never showed the timid nature that was far too prevalent in his early games. Instead, he was accurate, he was smart, and he stood his ground.

Next: Redskins Breakdown: Consistency must be sought for

With an early bye week to gain more comfort with his receivers, expect Kirk Cousins to continue to improve on his past performances. His game against the Chiefs was his best one of the season. But if his current trend continues, it won’t be for long.