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Week 8 Reality Checks – Cousins, Redskins equally bad in prime-time games

By Tim Payne

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 29: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 29: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 24: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings on the field in the first quarter of the preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 24: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings on the field in the first quarter of the preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) /

5. The Reality Is, when Kirk Cousins goes against the Redskins in primetime, everything we think we know is irrelevant.

This season, the Redskins were embarrassed in primetime against the struggling Chicago Bears. And for all his MVP-level performances this season, Kirk Cousins’ two worst games this season came in his two biggest games against the Packers and Bears. This week’s game is the first primetime matchup of the season for the Vikings, but Cousins’ all-time record in nationally televised games is 4-12 including losses in all three of his primetime matchups in a Vikings uniform.

While Cousins has performed admirably in a few of those contests, his play completion percentages and touchdown/turnover ratios in primetime games have consistently dropped off when compared to his career averages. He simply has not been good in the biggest spots.

But this week, we have a unique opportunity…we get to watch Cousins play a Washington team that is equally, if not more-so, prone to wilting under pressure. The Redskins have struggled in primetime long before Cousins arrived in Washington and ever since he departed. Their struggles are equally well-documented, and their likelihood of bucking the trend on a short week following a 1-6 start to the season would seem extremely unlikely.

All of this leads me to the inevitability of one of three possible results:

a.) Cousins accidentally kneels to cost his team the chance to kick a game-winning field goal and time expires to leave the game tied

OR

b.) The Redskins blow a 33-yard game-winning field goal to leave the game tied as time expires in overtime

OR

c.) The cosmic reaction resulting from the primetime ineptitude of the Cousins and the Redskins coming into conflict knocks out the power in Minneapolis and the game is rescheduled for noon on Friday where the primetime debacles are no longer relevant and the Vikings easily dispense of the Redskins since they are the better team.

Sadly, none of this will result in Dwayne Haskins getting any on-field experience or Kevin O’Connell getting any until at least Week 11, which means none of this matters for the future of the Redskins. But it sure will be fascinating to watch.

Redskins goals for Thursday night vs. Vikings. dark. Next

Hit me up on Twitter @TheRealityIs__ to discuss. And, as always, #HTTR.

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