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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been the target of the clichéd “Checkdown Kirk” slander before.
But from a fellow NFL player? That’s an added layer to the veteran quarterback’s already polarizing persona.
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Ex-Chiefs All-Pro Roasts Cousins, Paul Allen Claps Back
Former Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro right tackle Mitchell Schwartz watched the Vikings play the Chiefs on Friday and fired off a tweet that sent shockwaves through social media.
Schwartz, who was named to CBS Sports’ All-Decade Team but is still a free agent this offseason, poked fun at Cousins, who threw a third-down completion well-short of first down.
Vikings Entertainment Network play-by-play announcer Paul Allen wouldn’t stand for the disrespect.
Fans also chimed in, citing Cousins’ second-highest yards per pass thrown (8.3) in the NFL.
Some fans took shots at Schwartz for currently being unemployed in the league.
Unlike Schwartz, we’ll give respect where respect’s due. He was one of the NFL’s most consistent linemen for the better part of a decade.
However, his comments have remained a talking point among NFL fans despite numbers that bunk Cousins’ checking down stigma.
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Checkdown Kirk Debunked
The “Checkdown Kirk” moniker has been attached to Cousins throughout his time in the league.
Despite the stigma, he’s proven otherwise.
Entering the 2020 season, he threw a checkdown pass on just 3.8% of his third-down pass attempts, ranking 16th among 41 qualifying quarterbacks, per Pro Football Focus.
While averaging the second-most yards per pass attempt, Cousins has managed to be one of the league’s most accurate passer. He’s the only active quarterback to throw for 25 or more touchdowns every season since 2015 and completed a second-best 68% of his passes in that span.
There are intangibles and situational awareness that should be accounted for. However, it’s just the preseason…
That hasn’t stopped Pro Football Talk, which also chimed in on calling out the same play Schwartz was critical of, as the NFL world has already reconvened on its criticism of Cousins entering the most crucial season of his career.
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