Kirk Cousins’s five- (or maybe six-) word outburst at Redskins General Manager Scot McCloughan last month accomplished a few things:
1) It created a good Vine.
2) It prompted lots of debate over whether Cousins was just really happy to have beaten the Packers in prime time or was actually challenging McCloughan’s presumed skepticism over his viability as a long-term franchise quarterback. I actually believe there was a hint of that challenge, to the extent you can judge negotiating ploys from six-second clips involving five (or maybe six) words.
3) It gave “Monday Night Football” an easy soundtrack.
Sure enough, a month later the Redskins are on prime time again, this time against the Carolina Panthers and the league’s reigning MVP. And sure enough, ESPN is promoting the game with music from The Heavy’s “How You Like Me Now.” That means that Kirk Cousins is the star of this prime-time promo, not Cam Newton. That bet would have paid handsomely in whatever sportsbook takes action on “Monday Night Football” marketing soundtracks.
Of course, it makes some sense that the Redskins — who are fighting for the playoffs — would be featured over the Panthers, who aren’t.
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And there’s also this: Sometime in the first half Monday night, and possibly in the first quarter, Cousins will pass for his 65th yard of the game. That will give him 4,110 passing yards for the season, the second-most single-season passing yards in Redskins history, behind only his 4,166 yards from last season, which he should also break Monday night. He isn’t only going to smash the franchise record; he’s going to do it on national television, with two more games yet to play.
Which would mean a couple of more things:
- Cousins will be only the 15th man in the history of the NFL to throw for at least 4,100 yards in consecutive seasons.
- If the Redskins don’t bring him back, they would be the first team in the history of the league to get rid of a quarterback the season after he had a second consecutive 4,100-yard campaign.
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