Kirk Cousins’ 36 Touchdowns in 2015

Pierre Garcon’s Clutch Receptions

Opponent: Week 4 vs Philadelphia Eagles
Situation: 2nd and Goal at PHI 4. Redskins trailed Eagles 16-20.
Description: (0:26 - 4th) Pierre Garcon Pass From Kirk Cousins for 4 Yrds D.Hopkins extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-T.Way.
Offensive Grouping: 11 (1 RB - 1 TE - 3 WR)

• Kirk Cousins lines up in empty-set shotgun with trips right, slot left.
• Eagles respond with Cover 0 (no deep safeties) playing man-to-man across all wide receivers.
• After the snap, two Eagles’ defenders fake blitz and then drop back into underneath zones.
• The purpose of their fake blitz (also called a “Fire Zone blitz”) is to get a free pass rusher after confusing the offensive line protection scheme.
• While the blitz does work, Cousins releases the ball too quickly for it to be effective.
• Kirk Cousins takes the snap and looks to his left immediately at WR88 Pierre Garcon in the slot.
• Garcon runs an out-route on the goal line barely gaining separation from his defender FS26 Walter Thurmond
• The ball was placed slightly outside of Garcon’s arms forcing him to dive for the score. Excellent catch and great job holding onto the ball after getting sandwiched between the two defenders.
• Watch the top of Garcon’s route. He fakes inside then cuts back across to set up the diving catch. Realistically
• This touchdown gave the Redskins the lead late in the game and the ensuing victory.

DeSean Jackson Stretching the Defense

Opponent: Week 12 vs New York Giants
Situation: 1st and 10 at WSH 37. Redskins were leading 3-0.
Description: (10:18 - 2nd) DeSean Jackson Pass From Kirk Cousins for 63 Yrds D.Hopkins extra point is GOOD.
Offensive Grouping: 12 (1 RB - 2 TE - 2 WR)

• Kirk Cousins lines up in singleback with DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon split wide.
• After the snap, Cousins fakes the handoff to running back #46 Alfred Morris who runs to the left flat.
• Tight end #86 Jordan Reed crosses the backfield and blocks the edge holding the linebackers in position.
• Giants are in Cover 1 Man defense with free safety Brandon Merriweather deep.
• Jackson runs a post-route with a dino-stem (a route stem that pushes the defensive backs outside).
• Kirk Cousins, with plenty of time, sees the backs of the two DBs on the right side of the field turned, which gives him the opportunity to take the deep shot over the middle of the field.
• He launches the ball deep and slightly inside, but far enough to keep Jackson from slowing down for the long touchdown pass.

DeSean Jackson’s deep ball tracking ability is incredible. He routinely stretched defenses and opened up the field for other offensive players on the team.

Jordan Reed: An Unguardable Mismatch

Opponent: Week 16 at Philadelphia Eagles
Situation: 1st and 10 at PHI 12. Redskins were trailing 6-7.
Description: (1:00 - 1st) Jordan Reed Pass From Kirk Cousins for 12 Yrds D.Hopkins extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-T.Way.
Offensive Grouping: 12 (1 RB - 2 TE - 2 WR)

• Pre-motion, Kirk Cousins is in empty-set shotgun with trips bunch right and Pierre Garcon wide left.
• Cousins motions Jordan Reed to the opposite side of the formation.
• The Eagles adjust their coverage lining a linebacker directly across from Reed.
• This is typically a sign of man-to-man coverage, which is a great match-up for Cousins.
• After the snap, Reed runs a slant-route with his infamous crossover completely torching the linebacker in space.
• Kirk Cousins places the ball in Reed’s outstretched arms, who fights for a touchdown from 7 yards out.
• While this is not a difficult throw for Cousins it exemplifies the match-up nightmare Jordan Reed is for opposing defenses.
• Looking at the Eagle’s defense pre-motion, it looks like they are in Cover 6, but the motion moves linebacker #95 Mychal Kendricks into man-to-man coverage. It’s difficult to say with certainty however since the defense makes adjustments post-motion.

Redskins actually ran this exact same play earlier in the season versus the Saints achieving the same one-on-one matchup and result.

Kirk Cousins ran six plays into the endzone for scores. Two were on quarterback sneaks, two were on zone read-option runs, one was on a read-pass option packaged play (fully explained here), while the final touchdown was on a failed shovel pass versus Buffalo that Cousins ran in from 13 yards out (here).

Kirk Cousins’ 2015 Regular Season Stats - A Tale of Two Halfs

Clearly, Kirk Cousins performed significantly better during the second half of the season. Going into 2016, Cousins will have a full off-season as the uncontested starter for Washington. He was franchise-tagged for $19.9 million this off-season, and if he continues to play at the level he did during the second half of 2015, he should get a long-term deal.

The question, however, is: Will he regress in 2016? Or will he continue at the pace he set during the second half of his 2015 campaign with a full season of starter experience under his belt?

Follow Samuel Gold on Twitter: @SamuelRGold.