ESPN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had another hot take this week. This time he was highlighting quarterback Kirk Cousins following his move to the Atlanta Falcons.
On Wednesday’s edition of First Take, Russo argued that Cousins’ move to Atlanta makes him the second-best quarterback in the entire NFC – with only Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford ahead of him.
“This isn’t even a debate. This is a huge thing for Atlanta. The owner’s 82 years of age, he knew he didn’t have a quarterback on the roster. Cousins, after Stafford, you could make an argument that Cousins is the second-best quarterback in the NFC. I know you got (Jalen) Hurts, you wanna bring in Jordan Love, (Jared) Goff, (Dak) Prescott, (Brock) Purdy. But you can make the argument that Cousins is the second-best quarterback… I’m not sure I would support that, but you could make the argument. And he now, coming off the Achilles (injury), you expect him to bounce back. He’s 36 years of age… This is a bad division. This is a home run for the Falcons.
“Does that mean they’re gonna win the Super Bowl? No. Does that necessarily mean they’re gonna win the NFC? No. But as far as where they were with the two quarterbacks (Desmond) Ritter and (Taylor) Heinicke, where they are NOW? And where Minnesota is, left with Sam Darnold, this is a no-brainer. You can’t even debate it (being a great move).”
Stephen A. Smith interjected, declaring that he absolutely could debate it and Russo’s gushing over the Cousins signing ended there.
Cousins has long been admonished for his inability to win in big games – particularly in the postseason. He is 1-3 in the playoffs – a point that a huge swath of NFL fans point out regularly.
Is there an actual case to be made that he’s the second-best quarterback in the NFC though?