Well there goes a hundred million dollars.
Ever make a purchase that you soon realized was not worth the cost?
The Atlanta Falcons might be feeling that way right now. They spent $100,000,000 to bring in the quarterback they thought would take them over the top not only in their NFC South Division race but into the mix for their first-ever Super Bowl title. Turns out, they are showing little return for their investment while their opponent this week, who acquired their quarterback at a bargain basement price, owns one of the best records in football.
The quarterbacks we are referring to are Kirk Cousins of the Falcons and the Minnesota Vikings Sam Darnold. The expensive Cousins has led the Falcons to a six and six won loss record, Darnold has guided his Vikings to 10 wins in a dozen decisions. This week, these two costly and value-added quarterbacks square off when the Vikings host the Falcons.
While Cousins earned a reputation that garnered him a big pay day this season, Darnold was tossed around after entering the league as a third overall draft selection. Cousins was picked in the fourth round of the 2012 draft out of Michigan State by the Washington Redskins. His selection was an insurance policy on the quarterback the Redskins took with the second overall selection that year, Robert Griffin III.
RG3, as Griffin was nicknamed, had a brilliant rookie season but suffered a severe injury in a playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Never regaining his dominance over the game following his injury, Griffin relinquished the starting job in Washington to Cousins, and the fourth-round draft choice took full advantage.
Statistically, Cousins ranks among the top five quarterbacks of the past 20 seasons in completion percentage and touchdown passes. But he has a history of losing to teams with winning records. In other words, his stats have been padded by dominating inferior opponents and falling short against quality opposition.
Still, after a successful stint in Washington, Cousins spent six seasons as the Vikings starting quarterback. That’s right, the same Vikings he will meet Sunday at US Bank Stadium.
Darnold’s NFL career has been quite the opposite of Cousins. He came into the league highly touted out of USC and was the third overall selection in the 2018 draft. He spent his first three NFL seasons with the team that drafted him, the New York Jets, then two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and last year with the San Francisco 49ers. In 56 starts over his first six NFL campaigns, Darnold had a won/loss record of 21-35.
This year, after Cousins took the money and ran, the Vikings spent a first round draft choice on Michigan Quarterback J.J. McCarthy and signed Darnold to apparently backup the rookie. But McCarthy was injured during the preseason and lost for the year. That loss turned into a big gain for the Vikings and Darnold.
The seven-year veteran has for the first time in his career performed up to the standards that had first made him a third overall draft selection. This season he has tossed 23 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and his quarterback ranking of 102.5 is 20 points higher than his career number.
Meanwhile, this season Cousins 90.8 quarterback ranking is nearly 10 points below his career ranking, and he has surrendered 13 interceptions while collecting 17 touchdown passes. Last week, he single-handedly erased an otherwise good performance by his Atlanta teammates while tossing four interceptions, including a critical pick six, to turn a game in which the Falcons had twice as many yards both rushing and passing into a loss against the Los Angeles Chargers.
That defeat dropped the Falcons out of sole possession of first place in the NFC South Division, a grouping of four teams without a winning record.
So, now what?
Well, the Vikings have won their last two games, over the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals, without picking up a point spread win. The Falcons have lost their last three games to turn a good 6-3 mark into one with as many losses as wins.
Where does that leave these two teams come Sunday?
One inspired to overcome recent failings, the other winning close while losing against the number. The team with something to overcome versus a team hanging on is a solid play for the team most challenged, which this week in Minnesota is the visitor.
Qoxhi Picks: Atlanta Falcons (+5½) over Minnesota Vikings