John Matthews
WMAL.com
LANDOVER, MD — (WMAL) The Washington Redskins crossed another milestone off their season to-do list Sunday, winning consecutive games for the first time in 2015 en route to a 35-25 thrashing of the Buffalo Bills at Fed Ex Field.
The game was yet another coming-out party for Kirk Cousins, the much-maligned Redskins starter who, even in recent weeks, has been labeled a “back-up quarterback” by national NFL analysts, despite a string of impressive passing performances that will almost certainly result in the team pursuing a long-term deal to lock up the four-year veteran for years to come.
Sunday’s game brought a nearly-perfect performance from Cousins, who threw four touchdown passes and ran for a 13-yard score. Cousins finished 22 of 28 for 319 yards, and a passer rating of 153.7 – by far the highest of any NFL signalcaller this weekend. Like any smart quarterback, Cousins was quick to credit his receivers, including DeSean Jackson, who made a nifty move to break free and score on a 77-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter.
“I can go on and on about DeSean, Pierre [Garcon] and [Jamison] Crowder and Jordan Reed,” Cousins said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can catch the football for us and make plays and be electric.”
Reed continues to be virtually unstoppable. The tight end is too fast for linebackers and too big for defensive backs to cover effectively. He caught two touchdowns, and finished with seven catches for 84 yards.
Still – whether he likes the attention or not, the spotlight must return to Cousins, who set a franchise record Sunday with his sixth 300-yard passing day of the season, and tied another club mark by throwing a touchdown pass in 14 straight games to open the season. Sonny Jurgensen was the only other Redskins quarterback to do that in 1967.
After tossing eight interceptions in the first six games of the season, Cousins has thrown just three in the past eight games, against 16 touchdowns.
“That’s the good thing about Kirk – he’s never lost confidence or faith,” Coach Jay Gruden said. “At least for the amount of time I’ve been with him, he’s studied the game and worked to get himself to be a starter in this league. Hats off to him to get himself ready.”
For the first time since the second week of the season back in September, the Redskins are at .500, with a 7 and 7 record, a game ahead of the Giants and Eagles with two games remaining. New York came back from a 35-7 deficit to Carolina Sunday to tie the game, only to lose, 38-35, on a game-winning Panthers field goal by former Redskin Graham Gano. Philadelphia was blown out by Arizona Sunday night, 40 – 17, and will host the Redskins Saturday night.
The playoff picture is pretty simple. If The Redskins beat the Eagles next weekend, they will clinch the NFC East division crown. A Redskins loss would create a plan B in the last weekend of the season, requiring a Redskins win over Dallas and a Giants win over the Eagles in order for the Redskins to advance to the post -season for the first time since 2012.
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