Two shaky, uneven performances from Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins to start 2016 haven’t eroded head coach Jay Gruden’s confidence in the quarterback.
“We have total faith that Kirk will get it done, and he will get it done,” Gruden said, per ESPN. “He has proven that he can be a successful quarterback in this league.”
The Redskins dropped to 0-2 after the Dallas Cowboys came from behind to beat Washington in Week 2. Cousins was poor for the second straight game, with his back-breaking interception in the end zone costing the Redskins crucial points in the fourth quarter.
Through two games, Cousins has one touchdown pass, three interceptions and a 78.5 passer rating. Only Jameis Winston has more interceptions, and Cousins’ passer rating currently ranks 27th among 33 qualifying quarterbacks.
Gruden isn’t worried in his quarterback or offense.
“Everything else will take care of itself,” Gruden said. “Kirk’s game will take care of itself. He can make all the throws without a doubt. Guys have to just continue to run hard for him, block hard for him, and good things will happen. We have a very skilled offensive group, we really do. We have all the makings to be a great offense, but right now we are not great. The guys will have faith that Kirk will get it turned around, our offense will get it turned around, as long as everybody does their job.”
A year ago, Cousins threw for 4,166 yards and 29 touchdowns. He returned to Washington on the one-year, $19.95 million franchise tag, which has put immense pressure on both player and team to build on the 2015 season in 2016.
Cousins has clearly struggled, especially in terms of deep accuracy and overall decision-making. However, 15 weeks remain in the season, and Cousins has the support of his head coach. It’s on the $20 million man to get an ugly start to 2016 turned around.
