Kirk Cousins nominated for FedEx Air Player of the Week for Week 11

Kirk Cousins was a key player in the big Week 11 comeback victory for the Minnesota Vikings over Denver and is nominated for FedEx Air Player of the Week.

At one point during the Week 11 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, it looked as though the Vikings offense was going to be completely dominated by Denver’s excellent defense. The team couldn’t get anything going in the first half, struggling to pick up first downs or move the ball effectively at all.

The second half saw the passing offense of Minnesota absolutely explode. Kirk Cousins balanced short to mid-range passes with taking some deep shots thanks to effective play-action and rollouts to buy more time to keep the visiting team guessing defensively.

After an amazing second half, Cousins ended the game with excellent statistics and was recognized for that by being named one of the nominees for FedEx Air Player of the Week for Week 11. Here is the official announcement of the nominees and how to vote on the NFL’s official Twitter account:

This is going to be a tough week for Cousins to bring home the award considering the statistics of his competitors. Dak Prescott threw for 125 more yards than Minnesota’s quarterback in Week 11 and Jimmy Garoppolo had 105 more yards with an additional touchdown.

However, there are some areas where Cousins does have an advantage. Here are some of those:

• Impact of those plays. Minnesota entered the second half down 20 points and rallied back for a win in their game. Three of the touchdowns that led to their win came from Cousins, who dropped a PERFECT dime in the hands of Stefon Diggs, hit Kyle Rudolph for a nice catch and run, and gave Irv Smith Jr. the first receiving touchdown of his NFL career.
• Interceptions. Those voting for Garoppolo should take into account the two interceptions he threw in this game. Both Cousins and Prescott didn’t throw the ball to the opposing team, adding a little more clout to their performances during the week.
• Other stats. Yards and touchdowns don’t tell the whole story. Cousins registered the highest completion percentage of all three quarterbacks (82.86 percent), was first in quarterback rating with 133.2, and ate more sacks due to a struggling offensive line than the other two quarterbacks combined with five.

The biggest competition for Cousins in the voting will be Prescott, who will have a massive following thanks to playing for a team in a massive market. But that doesn’t mean that voting is pointless.

Here is how you can vote:

• Cast your vote on NFL.com
• Cast your vote on Twitter

The winner of the award will not only have bragging rights for the big honor, but they will also have FedEx award a $2,000 donation in the winning quarterback’s name to The USO. Best of luck to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in the voting!