Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan are eerily similar and that’s terrifying
By Luke Parrish
How did each quarterback perform at age 33?
In Matt Ryan’s age 33 season, he put up some astounding numbers. He finished the year with 35 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while throwing for 4,924 yards, good for a passer rating of 108.1. Ryan was at the top of the NFL at that stage in his career and had been coming off a very strong stretch of play over three seasons.
From 2016 to 2018, Matt Ryan was an elite passer and earned an MVP along the way. Over those three seasons, Ryan averaged over 4,650 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while boasting a record of 28-20 in that span. To put it simply, Ryan was phenomenal over those three seasons, which could be compared to Cousins’ last three seasons in Minnesota.
Over the past three seasons, Cousins has averaged 4,029 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Those are nearly identical numbers to Ryan while putting up a similar record in that span (25-22). Cousins and Ryan were both the same ages during these runs of their careers.
Kirk’s 2021 compares very well to Ryan’s 2018, though Ryan did have a slight edge across the board. Cousins threw for 4,221 yards with 33 touchdowns and seven picks. Ryan was slightly better but not enough to have any distinct “winner” of their age 33 seasons. So, with that all said, there are some tendencies that can predict how Kirk’s career will pan out.
After Matt Ryan balled out at age 33, things fell off in a hurry, and his cap hit made things even more complicated for the Falcons. That is something to keep an eye on as the Vikings head into an important offseason decision.