One of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season has been the play of quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Las Vegas Raiders signed him late in free agency as a stopgap option in case they wanted to wait to play rookie No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza.
Though the Raiders were 3-4 heading into Week 8, Cousins led the NFL with 16 touchdown passes. Against the New York Jets, the defense was getting gashed, so Cousins had to step up.
He finished the game with four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). After his first rushing touchdown of the season, Cousins hit a curious celebration dance.
📺: FOX/FOX One
At 38 years old, nobody expects Cousins to have the most amazing dance moves, but that didn’t stop his celebration from going viral. After the game, Cousins explained the origin of the dance.
“I call that my wellness celebration,” Cousins told Fox Sports after the game. “Dylan Laube and a couple other guys came up with that, and I told them if I had a rushing touchdown, I’d do it. Brock Bowers, as I was jogging off the field, I wouldn’t have thought to do it, and he goes, ‘hit ’em with the wellness celly,’ so I did.”
Cousins Deserves to Be in MVP Discussion
Cousins certainly earned the right to any celebration he wanted against the Jets. He was excellent and a big reason why the Raiders were able to pull off the comeback win.
After his performance against New York, Cousins is sitting at 19 touchdown passes for the season, which is the most in the NFL. It’s time for Cousins to at least be mentioned in the MVP discussion. He’s been one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Even the recent four-game losing streak wasn’t on him.
Now, if the Raiders can’t get back into the playoff mix, he won’t be a consideration for the MVP, but if he can even just get them into a Wild Card spot, he’d have to get some votes. Taking the worst team in the NFL and leading them to the playoffs while also leading the league in touchdown passes would be a major feat. At the very least, he’ll be in the mix to win Comeback Player of the Year.
Raiders Have No Plans to Play Mendoza
Amid the losing streak, there were plenty of calls for the Raiders to start Mendoza. Even though Cousins was playing well, there was no reason not to give the rookie some reps.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Raiders don’t have plans to play Mendoza soon.
“The entire Raiders schedule is essentially brutal, but my understanding is they do not want Fernando Mendoza to play anytime soon,” Rapoport said on “NFL GameDay
Morning.”
“Kirk Cousins has played well — certainly, they do not believe he has been the reason for their losing streak — and the entire plan going into this season was to have Mendoza sit back and learn from Cousins. And it sounds like that has worked.”
Cousins has earned the right to keep starting, so unless his play gets a lot worse, Mendoza needs to get comfortable on the bench.
Kirk Cousins Gives Backstory to Viral TD Celebration vs. Jets