Such is the life of an NFL quarterback. Despite Cousins’ stellar game Thursday night, he remains the focus of national media ire after the Vikings drop to 0-2 to start the season.
The Vikings QB went 31/44 for 364 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in the 34-28 loss to the Eagles, leading Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd to say Cousins is ‘just bad’ in primetime games.
Cowherd wasn’t the only national talking head to lay the blame at Cousins feet Friday. Enter ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
“Pat, some people have it. Some people don’t,” responded Stephen A. when conversation turned towards Cousins on Friday’s Pat McAfee Show.
“You could have some skills. You could have it, but there’s certain things you’re missing. Kirk Cousins is one of those dudes. You’re going to always look at him. You’re going to see the numbers. You’re going to see the productivity. You’re going to know that he’s not a scrub. But whatever he’s associated with doesn’t close.”
"Some people have it and some people don't..
I promise you were not gonna be talking about the Vikings when it counts" ~ @stephenasmith #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/symU1zgYrC
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 15, 2023
“Here’s the deal. [Jordan] Addison can ball. Got a chance to be special,” continued Smith. “We know what Justin Jefferson can do. But the second they lost Dalvin Cook, I have not been worried about Minnesota. Do you know why? Because with Dalvin Cook I wasn’t worried about Minnesota. Somehow, some way while they were winning last year, I said ‘Giants going to beat them.’ Giants beat them. Giants beat them in the postseason with Saquon Barkley and a bag of chips. That’s what they did.
“I’m just saying to you, Kirk Cousins, 0-2, forget all of that. He’s going to put up numbers. Hell, they’re going to win more games than they’re going to lose. But I promise you, we ain’t going to be talking about Minnesota when it counts. Because there’s always something missing from a team that Kirk Cousins is the quarterback of.”
McAfee responded that ESPN colleague Mike Greenberg wants Cousins to be the Jets quarterback this season after Aaron Rodgers’ season ending Achilles injury.
“Greeny’s desperate,” Smith said. “Greeny is a bit desperate, and depressed. Greeny is going through some things because we understand he’s been a life-long Jets fan and they ain’t been to the Super Bowl since 1968 when Joe Namath was wearing tight shorts.”
