ASHBURN — Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins said he’s likely to have two suits available post-game for Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos.
If they lose, Cousins said he’ll go with his standard, “boring” attire. But if they win — Cousins said he’s open to wearing a Christmas suit for a second straight year, or “whatever my wife picks out.”. Last year, Cousins’ wife, Julie, packed a special Christmas-themed suit for Washington’s Dec. 24 game in Chicago.
The Redskins will play again Sunday on Christmas Eve, but that’s not the only scenario familiar for Cousins.
As was the case for the two previous seasons, Cousins faces the possibility of playing his last game at FedEx Field.
Cousins, who played again this season under a one-year deal, downplayed the significance.
“Those possibilities have come up before,” Cousins said. “I guess now that it’s the third year of that, you just go out and play and let the chips fall where they may.”
Still, it’s no secret that Cousins has provided stability to the Redskins at quarterback, which is part of the allure of bringing him back at least another year, even if it means shelling out $34 million for another franchise tag.
Washington, meanwhile, doesn’t have have to look far to see how miserable life without a quarterback like Cousins.
They saw it last week, when Arizona Cardinals quarterback Blaine Gabbert went 17-of-40 and committed two turnovers. It was no surprise when Cardinals coach Bruce Arians announced Monday that Drew Stanton would start this week instead.
This week’s opponent — the Broncos — saw their season torpedoed because of inadequate quarterback play. Since Peyton Manning retired in 2016, Denver hasn’t found a solution at the position.
Denver opened the season with Trevor Siemian, who played in seven games before they benched him for Brock Osweiler. Osweiler lasted three games before he was given the hook for 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch. Lynch played just three quarters before suffering an ankle injury, and the Broncos went back to Siemian. Siemian started the next three games before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last Thursday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Now, the Broncos are between starting Osweiler or Lynch against the Redskins. The world eagerly awaits.
“I’ll tell you, it hasn’t been easy guys,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said.
Redskins coach Jay Gruden knows how difficult rotating quarterbacks can be, too. In 2014, his first year, Gruden rotated between Cousins, Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III.
The Redskins finished 4-12.
“It was pretty disruptive,” Gruden said. “We try to keep a core group of plays that guys are comfortable with and try to stick to those. When you have a lot of change, you don’t add a lot of new things for each individual quarterback, but you try to keep the core concepts in there and let them all try to work with those.”
Concerns about his future aside, Cousins said he’s more focused on ending his year at FedEx Field on a high-note. Lately, the Redskins offense has struggled.
For one, they haven’t been on the field for many plays. Last week, the Redskins played just 53 snaps — only two more snaps than their loss in Los Angeles. Washington hasn’t been able to convert on third down as well, either.
The Broncos present a huge challenge on defense, having a superstar pass-rusher in Von Miller and a pair of All-Pro cornerbacks with Chris Harris and Aqib Talib. The Broncos won a Super Bowl in 2016, in large part because of their defense.
And even though Denver is just 5-9, they are on a two-game winning streak.
“We’ve got to find a way to get more plays in,” Cousins said. “[We need] any number of circumstances to create that, starting with third down.”
Cousins’ production has dipped since the Redskins lost running back Chris Thompson to a season-ending broken fibula on Nov. 19 against the New Orleans Saints. Since then, Cousins hasn’t topped 300 yards passing.
He’s being hit more often, as well. Cousins took a big shot against the Cardinals and was slow to get up, leading the quarterback to say Wednesday that he knows he’s always “one shot away” from being injured.
This season, Cousins has been sacked a career-high 7.5 percent of the time. Instability along the offensive line hasn’t helped, with the Redskins using backups at left tackle, center and guard at various stretches of the season.
In Cousins’ first two years as a starter, he enjoyed continuity along the offensive line.
For the Redskins, the biggest question going forward will be if they have continuity with Cousins at the helm.
“I’d like to think that the continuity at the quarterback position is always preferred, but it’s not a luxury that you have at all times,” Cousins said. “So you have to be ready to roll with whatever happens and I would like to hope and believe that we can continue to have continuity but time will tell.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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