NFL analyst claims long-standing Kirk Cousins complaint has “stink of politics” about it
As Kirk Cousins likely knows, the United States presidential election is mere weeks away. As such, the event has permeated the thinking of every corner of the country, including NFL analysts.
Speaking on "Good Morning Football" on October 3, analyst Kyle Brandt compared the classic Kirk Cousins Achilles' heel to a negative political campaign tactic.
0:00 Kyle Brandt "The first group of people to call out is anyone who is still banging the drum about Cousins in primetime. That's a stupid, tired old story that is completely factually wrong. The last three years on Thursday night, Cousins has been excellent, not average, not good, excellent," he said.
"Seven passing touchdowns, one interception. He's 2-1 on Monday nights in the last three years. ... It just has this stink of politics where you just keep going after someone with the same attack, even though you don't even know if it's true," he added.
Most recently, Cousins managed to stun tens of thousands of Philadelphia Eagles fans in a Monday Night Football game earlier this season. Down against Jalen Hurts for most of the game, Cousins led the team on a last-second surge to pull a win out of the clenches of the Eagles.
This week, he'll hope to win comfortably but has demonstrated that he should not automatically be counted out if down late in the contest.
Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield playing for high stakes in Week 5 TNF showdown
It is rare that primetime matchups that were set out months in advance end up spotlighting games as well as Thursday Night Football has done this week.
Kirk Cousins and the Falcons face their divisional rival Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week. With the Falcons at 2-2 and the Buccaneers at 3-1, the winner of the game would get control of the NFC South.
If the Falcons win, they would jump to 3-2 and knock the Buccaneers down to 3-2. With Bijan Robinson's team holding the tie-breaker, the Falcons would jump into first place at the end of the contest. However, if the Buccaneers win, they can separate themselves from perhaps their biggest competition in the division.
With such a big game taking place in primetime, will the lights become too bright for either quarterback?
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Good Morning Football," and H/T Sportskeeda.