Fox Sports’ Emmanuel Acho presented his version of the five best quarterbacks in the NFC on Thursday and there was one very obvious omission: Kirk Cousins.
My Top 5 quarterbacks in the NFC (going into ‘23)
5: Geno Smith
4: Jared Goff
3: Matthew Stafford
2: Dak Prescott
1: Jalen HurtsReply with your list, or retweet if I got it right! ✍🏾👇🏾
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) July 6, 2023
Acho ordered his best in the NFC with Jalen Hurts at No. 1, followed by Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff and Geno Smith.
In a response to a Twitter user about the snub of the Vikings QB, Acho said: “I could’ve swapped Kirk with Dak (Goff and Geno were better than both last year and Stafford got a ring). But that Kirk game vs Philly I can’t forget.”
Bro I genuinely thought of u when I created this list… but then I was like my dawg will understand my reasoning:
I could’ve swapped Kirk with Dak (Goff and Geno were better than both last year and Stafford got a ring)
But that Kirk game vs Philly I can’t forget
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) July 6, 2023
Keeping Kirk off his top-five list because of one early season game is odd considering the remainder of the season Cousins led eight game-winning drives and helped the Vikings to a 13-4 record.
Acho saying “Goff and Geno were better than both last year” is also questionable. In 2022 Kirk threw for 4,547 yards and 29 touchdowns, both second best in the NFC. Kirk was also far more consistent over the course of the season than either Smith or Goff.
Goff had a 12-to-6 touchdowns to interception ratio over the first seven games of the season followed up by a 17-to-1 ratio over the final 10 games.
Smith and the Seahawks started off with a 6-3 record before sneaking into the playoffs on the final week of the season with a 9-8 record.
While Kirk isn’t the best QB in the NFC, that title is firmly in the hands of Jalen Hurts, he’s certainly in the top-five conversation heading into 2023 thanks to one of the best groups of offensive weapons in the NFC.
Any list without him in the top five of the NFC can’t be taken seriously.
