Redskins Kirk Cousins spreading the ball around
The rookie fourth rounder was shown disrespect from Las Vegas. They went from two point favorites to two point underdogs when QB Kirk Cousins was named starter. What Cousins did in response was lead the Redskins to a 38 point barrage on the road with 329 passing yards and completing 70% of his passes. What was great about Cousins game was the fact he spread the football around. Rookie quarterbacks have a tendencies to lock in on the team's main receiver.
Not Cousins.
Cousins completed 26 of 37 passes. With those 26 completions, Cousins spread the ball around to 8 different receivers. Of the 8 receivers, Cousins completed 4 or more passes to four different receivers. 17 of his 26 completions went to wide receivers. Cousin's favorite target was Pierre Garcon, who caught 6 passes for 65 yards. Overall, Cousins threw 12 passes two Garcon. However, neither of Cousin's two TD tosses went to Garcon. Those were both reserved for Leonard Hankerson, who caught a 54 yard TD pass in the first half and a two yard strike in the second half. Santana Moss was Cousin's second most frequent receiver, catching 5 passes for 57 yards. Overall, he targeted Moss on 6 passes. Cousins threw to his wide receivers on 25 of his 37 pass attempts.
Besides wide receivers, Cousins also showed some love to TE Logan Paulsen, who caught 4 passes for 47 yards. He completed 5 passes to his backfield for 48 yards.
Fox coverage did a pretty decent job on one replay showing the excellent vision of Cousins scanning the field from left to right before finding an open target on the right side of the field. It is something you really can't teach a quarterback. It is a gift and Cousins has it. For too long, the Redskin have had quarterbacks who were predictable to defenses, locking in on the receiver of choice. Cousins, like fellow rookie standout Robert Griffin III, possess the coveted skill of not locking down their intended receiver.
Give the kid his due. It was a tough circumstance for Cousins to be placed. The Redskins are at a point int he season that every single game counts. Losses are unaffordable. The Redskins were on the road against a young Cleveland Browns team that put together their own three game winning streak. Kudos to him for perservering the hype and pressure, maintaining the poise, and taking care of business.
