ASHBURN — Kirk Cousins summed up his season to date with a bold claim during his weekly radio appearance this week: He’s playing, he says, the best football of his career.
Looking at the last couple of weeks, it would be hard to argue otherwise. Despite patch-working together units of offensive linemen and running backs dropping left and right, the Redskins offense has been on fire the last two weeks, posting season highs in points.
Along with Cousins, others like running back Samaje Perine, tight end Vernon Davis and wide receivers Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder have stepped up to fuel the Redskins.
Washington now ranks 10th in offensive DVOA, which measures efficiency, climbing four spots thanks to strong performances against two solid defenses in Minnesota and New Orleans.
The Redskins’ rise starts with the quarterback, who has been as good as he has been all season during the last two games.
Cousins’ numbers back up his original assertion, too. With a career-low 1.4 interception percentage, he’s among the NFL’s top 10 quarterbacks in practically every statistical categort, including passing yards, touchdowns, passer rating, and adjusted yards per attempt.
Cousins is playing well despite dealing with pressure — he’s been sacked a career-high 6.8 percent of the time. According to ESPN’s Stats and Information, Cousins ranks as the sixth best quarterback with a passer rating of 76.4 when facing pressure.
Last week in New Orleans, Cousins delivered a perfect throw to a wide open Ryan Grant for a 40-yard touchdown while facing an all-out blitz.
“It’s every area of quarterbacking,” Cousins said. “I think I’ve done a much better job of handling protections and feeling the rush and knowing when to take sacks, when to throw it away, when to throw it into tight windows, working through progressions, knowing when to run and when to take off, just throwing with accuracy, being decisive. All the things you have to do at this position. I’ve continued to improve and it’s helped in our offensive production.”
With the Redskins defense giving up yards in chunks and points by the bushel, Cousins and the offense will likely have to carry the load Thursday against the New York Giants.
Asked about game planning for Thursday’s game with his team’s slew of injuries, Redskins coach Jay Gruden responded with a question of his own.
“Well, does it look like I’ve slept a lot?” Gruden said.
A sleep-deprived Gruden has a difficult task of coming up with a game plan with 11 players questionable for Thursday — six of whom play offense — and four players ruled out. Tight end Jordan Reed (hamstring) will miss his fifth straight, while defensive lineman Terrell McClain (toe), safety Montae Nicholson (concussion) and center Chase Roullier (fractured hand) are also out.
The Redskins also recently lost their most productive player in Chris Thompson, who broke his leg against the Saints.
“We have a base foundation of a core offense that we can go to that everybody is comfortable doing,” Gruden said. “It’s just a matter of how many new wrinkles can you put in. That’s the hard part. You want to try to do something different for each defensive coordinator that you face and that can be tougher with all the new players.”
Washington’s offense has also clicked lately because they have found other players to increase their production. Perine, a rookie who took over the starting role for Rob Kelley, had his best outing of the season in New Orleans with 117 rushing yards.
Crowder has also found a rhythm, catching 20 of his 39 catches over his last three games, though he missed Week 10 against Seattle with a hamstring injury. Earlier in the year, Crowder was also limited with a hamstring injury, but now leads the team in targets.
Crowder said he doesn’t put any additional pressure on himself to produce despite the Redskins’ injuries.
“We still have a lot of talent,” Crowder said. “[Josh] Doctson has been playing well. Ryan Grant, Vernon Davis. It sucks to have guys injured, but we just have to keep playing and keep moving.”
Of the Redskins’ 11 players who are questionable, Gruden said “seven or eight” will be game-time decisions. That includes left tackle Trent Williams (knee), who might be too sore to play against the Giants.
In general, the Redskins offensive line will look different with Roullier out and left guard Shawn Lauvao placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. Gruden said Tony Bergstrom will replace Roullier and guard Arie Kouandjio will take Lauvao’s spot.
In the last two games, Cousins had the benefit with playing with four-fifths of his usual starting line. Once again, Cousins and the Redskins now have to adapt.
With a short week, Washington has been using a series walkthroughs to prepare for the Giants instead of their usual practice. Cousins acknowledged the challenges of installing new plays, but said most of the skill positions “have been out there before.”
“You rely on those reps that you’ve banked through OTAs and training camp and trust that will carry you through on a short week,” Cousins said.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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