The quarterback can’t improvise
In terms of talent, Kirk Cousins should be better than Case Keenum. After all, Keenum has bounced around the league since his magical 2017 season and the current Redskins’ quarterback got benched during Washington’s loss to the New York Giants last Sunday. Despite that, Cousins hasn’t looked good this season and a lot has to do with his inability to adapt.
Cousins has wound up being known as a quarterback that can’t adapt to circumstance. Although the Vikings spent a majority of the offseason building around him to make his life easier with a new scheme, a better offensive line, and what they thought were better weapons, the team’s passing game is ranked dead last in the NFL entering Week 5.
This is the key problem with Cousins. Too many times, the 30-year-old folds like a tent in the face of pressure. When he was at his best during the early part of last season, Cousins was letting it fly and that could have been part of what was so detrimental about his Week 2 interception against the Packers that helped cost the game.
With Keenum able to improvise, it’s a big reason why Cousins has failed to win over the fan base during the first year and change of his three-year, $84 million contract. The Vikings do have time to turn this around, but that won’t happen unless Cousins steps up his game.