LANDOVER, Md. -- The start provided ammo for those who don’t want to pay Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. The rest of the game provided the same for those who do. In what could have been his final home game, Cousins showed a little bit of everything: early inaccuracy, a strong finish and the ability to overcome negative plays.
In Sunday’s 27-11 win over Denver, Cousins’ day was a lot like his career in Washington: a tough start followed by an excellent recovery. If this was Cousins’ last home appearance in a Redskins uniform, fans saw what they’ve seen for a few years: a couple of bad throws, a questionable one and a lot of good ones. They also saw bad quarterbacking from an opponent that may or may not pursue Cousins in the offseason.
Give the Redskins (7-8) credit after their win. While it might not matter to people outside the organization whether they finish .500, it does matter to those inside.
They’ve won two games against subpar teams the last two weeks (Arizona in Week 15), but that’s irrelevant. No one is giving them bonus points for losing to good teams. And if they close the season to finish 8-8? That’s a solid ending for a team that has been picked apart by injuries. Every team has them, of course, but not to this extent.
Sunday, they were using a ninth running back this season (Kapri Bibbs) and at times had several defensive players on the field who were either out of work or on the practice squad a month ago.
The Redskins needed Cousins to do something and he did. After running on three of their first four third downs in the opening quarter, the Redskins threw on 10 of their next 17 in the second and third. They put it more on Cousins. That’s what you should do if you’re paying a guy $24 million.
During the week, Cousins was matter-of-fact discussing his future. He didn’t enter the game thinking that he was done. After all, he’s in the same spot as he was the past two seasons. He’s still here.
When Cousins discusses it, he’ll point to multiple other players on one-year deals. He knows there’s a chance he’ll play elsewhere; he knows there’s a chance he’ll return. Before this season, he admitted to some friends he wasn’t sure what to expect -- would this be like his senior year in high school? A final run with his guys? He didn’t know. So it’s hard to be wistful about an uncertain situation.
As usual, there was reason, again, to ponder every aspect of his game. He missed too many throws early, whether on deep outs or go routes. Cousins also was 8-of-19 for 97 yards at halftime. One of those misses was a drop by receiver Josh Doctson in the end zone, a perfect ball Cousins stuck between two defenders. But he also underthrew Doctson on a deep ball.
But the second half showed the grit in his game. Cousins completed 11-of-18 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. After a solid drive ended in the ugly -- a Cousins interception in the end zone when Doctson was smothered by multiple Broncos -- the offense responded well. Cousins drove them 55 yards for a field goal, followed on the next series by a 48-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Doctson. Cousins made a perfect pass on a bootleg under duress to tight end Vernon Davis for a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Cousins isn’t a superstar. However, the Redskins’ most recent two victims, Arizona and Denver, would take him in a heartbeat. That’s a discussion for another day. For now, the Redskins are a banged-up team that has won two straight. And they have an uncertain future at quarterback.
Was this Cousins' last home game in Washington? That question won’t be answered for several months. It'll be discussed endlessly.