Well, it was a good run by Kirk Cousins while it lasted.
Cousins began his NFL career 0-9 in starts on “Monday Night Football,” but things appeared as if they were turning around. He beat the Bears in clashes on Nov. 16, 2020, and Dec. 20, 2021, his two most recent times playing on Mondays.
That two-game winning streak by Cousins came to a close in abrupt, alarming fashion against the Eagles. Cousins threw three interceptions and went 27-for-46 with a touchdown and 221 passing yards against the Eagles, coming a week after he led the Vikings to a dominant 23-7 Week 1 win against the division-rival Packers. He had more completions to Eagles’ corner Darius Slay (two) than former Eagle-turned-Viking receiver Jalen Reagor (one).
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These struggles aren’t anything new. Cousins has routinely struggled in prime-time games, particularly on Monday nights. Here’s a look at his history of struggles under the bright lights.
Kirk Cousins prime-time record
Cousins’ overall record in prime-time games is not good, but it is almost entirely weighted down by his performances on Monday nights.
Overall, when playing in prime-time games, Cousins has a record of 10-18, according to data from Stathead. His record on Mondays sits now at 2-10, while he is 3-4 on Thursdays, 4-4 on Sunday nights and 1-0 on Saturdays.
Since 2015, Cousins’ first full season as a starter in the NFL, his 16 losses in prime-time games are the most among all quarterbacks, according to Stathead.
Thursday nights
Overall, Cousins has actually been at his worst statistically. When playing in prime-time games on Thursdays, Cousins has completed only 65 percent of his passes for 1,989 yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Saturday nights
Cousins has appeared on one Saturday: Dec. 26, 2015. Facing Philadelphia while still quarterbacking Washington, Cousins completed 31-of-46 passes for 365 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Sunday nights
Cousins has been at his best when he’s played on Sunday nights. He has completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 2,356 yards with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Monday nights
The record for Cousins on Monday nights is undoubtedly awful, but his numbers aren’t as terrible as the 2-10 record would suggest.
Including Monday’s loss to the Eagles, Cousins has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,875 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
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Kirk Cousins on Monday nights
Cousins has now made 12 starts on Monday nights since he became the starter in Washington back in 2014. Which have been his best, and which have been his worst?
The Sporting News is taking a look at each of his starts to see which outings were “You like that” Kirk, and which were “You don’t like that” Kirk.
Week 10, 2020 vs. Bears
Cousins finally got the Monday monkey off his back by picking up his first win in the prime-time window with a Week 10, 19-13 win against the Bears in 2020.
Was Cousins perfect? Absolutely not. But he completed 25-of-36 passes for 292 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He might have had more had Kyle Rudolph not fumbled on the first drive in Chicago territory. And his only pick came when he hit Adam Thielen up the middle with a pass that bobbled through his hands and into the grasp of Khalil Mack.
To start the fourth quarter, Cousins led the Vikings on a nine-play, 63-yard drive during which he threw for 42 yards and the go-ahead score. He then didn’t turn the ball over on his remaining two drives as he helped keep Chicago at bay.
Week 7, 2017 vs. Eagles
This clash might have ended in a 34-24 defeat, but Washington’s Oct. 23, 2017, matchup against the Eagles was Cousins’ second-best performance under the lights.
Cousins completed 30-of-40 passes with 303 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception. The timing of Cousins’ interception was undoubtedly the blemish as it came with 8:48 left in the game and Washington already trailing 31-17. The Eagles kicked a field goal on the next drive to take a three-score lead.
Cousins took Washington down the field for a touchdown drive the next time he had possession, but the Eagles held on for the win.
Week 8, 2014 vs. Seahawks
Look, the completion percentage isn’t pretty. Cousins completed just 58.3 percent on 21-of-36 passing in Washington’s 27-17 loss to the Seahawks, but overall, he performed well enough to have earned a win.
Cousins passed for 283 yards with a pair of touchdowns, did not turn the ball over and was sacked just once during the start. He even led a scoring drive late in the game that brought the score to a 24-17 contest with 3:40 left to go.
But all game, Washington’s defense had no answer for the Seattle rushing attack, which proceeded to drain more than three minutes off the clock thanks to five carries for 18 yards from Marshawn Lynch, a 15-yard face mask penalty on Washington and a short pass to Lynch that he took 30 yards down field. Seattle kicked a field goal with 27 seconds left to wipe away any hopes of a win.
Week 13, 2019 vs. Seahawks
Cousins might have out-dueled Russell Wilson based on the numbers, but the Minnesota defense once again was disappointing against Seattle in a 37-30 Week 13 loss.
Cousins completed 22-of-38 passes for 276 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception, though, like his pick in the win against the Bears, the ball had been tipped into the air by a receiver, this time Stefon Diggs, and into the hands of a defender, this time Tre Flowers.
Minnesota’s QB helped keep the Vikings in a position to win, driving them down the field to score a touchdown with 7:14 left in the game that would have made it 34-31 had the PAT been made. But after another stalled Viking drive and a late field goal by Seattle, C.J. Ham fumbled the kickoff with less than 20 seconds left, giving the ball back to the Seahawks, who kneeled to end the game.
Week 4, 2017 vs. Chiefs
Another loss for Cousins, though he had no turnovers in the Week 4, 29-20 loss to the Chiefs.
The Washington QB completed 14-of-24 passes for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns without any turnovers.
The score should have been closer than it wound up looking. Washington had the ball back with four seconds left trailing 23-20 and attempted to lateral up the field, but the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Chiefs for a touchdown.
Week 13, 2015 vs. Cowboys
A rivalry matchup on the big stage? This one wasn’t great for Cousins and Washington on their home turf despite entering the game as the favorites. Both teams traded scores throughout the contest until Dan Bailey kicked a game-winning 54-yard field goal with nine seconds left to win the game for Dallas 19-16.
Cousins certainly didn’t hurt the team, but he could best be described as a non-factor. He completed 22-of-31 passes for 219 yards and threw the team’s only touchdown, a game-tying 28-yard pass to DeSean Jackson with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Sure, it wasn’t Cousins’ fault that Dallas took only 35 seconds to march down the field and get into field goal range after a great kickoff return by Lucky Whitehead. But that mediocre performance against a Dallas team that finished the year 4-12? He certainly did little to help Washington.
Week 14, 2018 vs. Seahawks
Another Monday loss to the Seahawks, this time in a game that rapidly got away from the Vikings. Despite entering the fourth quarter down only 3-0, Minnesota watched as Seattle capitalized on good starting field position twice and a fumble recovery for a touchdown to win 21-7.
Cousins wasn’t bad in the game. He completed 20-of-33 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. However, the touchdown pass came with 1:17 left and the Vikings already trailing 21-0.
Despite the defense holding Wilson to just 72 passing yards, a lost fumble for a touchdown by Cook and a missed field goal from Bailey in the fourth quarter proved problematic. But only averaging 7.3 yards per attempt won’t usually help matters, either.
Week 15, 2021 vs. Bears
So, what exactly constitutes a good performance? Is it eye-popping numbers, or just getting the win? The Vikings will take the win, but Cousins’ performance in the 17-9 victory against the Bears late in 2021 was ugly.
Cousins completed 12-of-24 passes for just 87 passing yards. Sure, two of those passes were touchdowns — a 12-yard snag by Jefferson and a 7-yard grab by Ihmir Smith-Marsette — but if it weren’t for three lost fumbles by the Bears, this outcome could have been different.
The Vikings were out-gained 370-193 in total yards by Chicago. Not ideal, but a win’s a win.
Week 1, 2016 vs. Steelers
How can it get worse than 87 passing yards? How about 329 passing yards, but with no touchdowns and two interceptions in a losing effort. That was the case for Cousins in Washington’s 38-16 loss to Pittsburgh.
The overall numbers on Cousins’ day don’t look bad, but there was certainly some late padding added to that. Cousins had passed for 216 yards heading into the fourth quarter of the contest, by which point Washington was down 24-9.
Cousins’ first pick came in a bad spot. With the team down 17-6 early in the third quarter, he was picked off by Ryan Shazier trying to find Jordan Reed. Pittsburgh responded with a touchdown drive. His second was on the final play of the game before Ben Roethlisberger took the final kneel-down.
Week 15, 2016 vs. Panthers
Another hollow 300-yard passing day for Cousins, though this game was certainly not entirely on him. Washington’s defense allowed 438 total yards and its rushing offense contributed only 29 yards in the 26-15 loss to the Panthers.
There was certainly not anything overly wrong with Cousins’ effort, but there was nothing to propel Washington to the win. He completed 32-of-47 passes for 315 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. The pick came early in the first quarter, but resulted only in a field goal for Carolina.
When the Washington offense finishes with five field goals, there are clearly more problems than just the QB. But Cousins certainly warranted plenty of blame for this loss.
Week 16, 2019 vs. Packers
The bright side: Cousins threw a touchdown. The down side: everything else. Based on passer rating, Cousins turned in the second-worst passing game on Mondays in his career at 58.8 in Minnesota’s 23-10 loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Cousins had Minnesota in decent shape early. Early in the second quarter, the Vikings capitalized on an interception from Rodgers to wind up taking a 10-3 lead. From there, he went just 12-for-21 with 136 passing yards and an interception.
That was his ninth loss on Monday nights until another dismal performance in 2022.
Week 2, 2022 vs. Eagles
The Vikings’ Week 2 loss against Philadelphia takes the cake as Cousins’ worst performance on a Monday. While he threw a touchdown, which is already more than two other Monday games, and he had 221 passing yards, more than five games, Cousins was the biggest reason Minnesota lost.
The Eagles’ offense was shut out in the second half and Minnesota had plenty of chances to change that. The Vikings had the ball in the red zone three times in the second half, and reached Philadelphia territory four times. The end results on those four drives? Interception, interception, interception, game-ending sack.
Cousins, who had seven picks all last season, nearly reached the halfway-point to that total in one game alone. It is for certain his worst career Monday performance.
NFL Quarterbacks with a worse Monday Night Football, prime time record than Kirk Cousins
As bad as the record suggests, Kirk Cousins’ record holds up better than other QBs in the NFL.
Daniel Jones
The Giants QB is 0-5 on Monday night. Completing 63.2% of his passes for 1,134 yards, Jones has eight touchdowns against eight interceptions. To add insult to injury, Jones is 0-3 on TNF and 0-8 in prime time overall.
Andy Dalton
Dalton has struggled on Monday nights, as well. He has a passer rating of 73.2 with 1,719 yards, 7 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 8 games on Mondays in his career. Dalton is 2-6 on MNF, 0-1 on Tuesdays, 5-4 on TNF, 1-1 on Saturdays and 6-18 overall in prime time.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick doesn’t have the Fitzmagic on Monday nights, historically, going just 1-5. He has 9 touchdowns against 9 interceptions with 1,362 yards and a 77.3 passer rating.
Baker Mayfield
The former Browns QB may hope to shed the demons of MNF past with his new team in the Panthers. Mayfield is just 1-3 with a 65.8 passer rating. He’s thrown 5 touchdowns against 6 interceptions in those four games.
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