Kirk Cousins: Highs and Lows from the 2019 NFL season

3. Low – Cousins consecutive starts steak is gone

Low on the totem pole of importance, Cousins is now unlikely to approach any “iron man” streaks for consecutive starts by a starting quarterback. He and the Vikings probably do not care about this mark, but the media enjoys propping guys like Brett Favre and Eli Manning up for their stamina.

Philip Rivers (224 games) and Russell Wilson (128 games) are the active leaders in consecutive starts. Before Week 17 of last season, Cousin stood at 79 straight starts.

Now, he must start over.

In a very strict hypothetical manner, Cousins with a clean bill of health could have realistically started around nine more seasons. This, in theory, would tag him at 223 starts in a row, which would certainly place him in the top five of all-time among quarterbacks.

Although interesting, it is all for nil now. Minnesota had nothing to play for in Week 17 against the Bears last year. The team’s playoff seeding was solidified and starters were subsequently rested.