Kirk Cousins has interesting quote about not being benched

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had another awful game on Sunday, and he had an interesting reaction to his coach’s handling of him.

Though Cousins threw three touchdowns on Sunday, he also threw three interceptions in a 40-23 loss to the previously winless Atlanta Falcons. That moved Cousins to seven interceptions on the season, the second-worst tally in the NFL.

Despite this, Cousins was allowed to finish the game by Mike Zimmer, even though the coach would not have been questioned if he’d benched his starter. Cousins knows it, too. He seemed to indicate he was fortunate not to be benched, and would not keep his job if his play didn’t improve.

Kirk Cousins on Mike Zimmer not benching him today: "You just have to play well in this business and the reality is if the pace that I'm on – in terms of the interceptions – if that continues, I won’t finish the season."

— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) October 18, 2020

Cousins is on pace to throw 22 interceptions over a full season. That’s just not workable, and he knows it. In fact, he almost sounds like he feels he deserved to be benched for his showing.

The veteran quarterback has long been maligned by many for his lack of big wins and inability to consistently produce elite performances. He seemed to answer that narrative with a big road playoff win last season, but it has not lasted. The Vikings are now 1-5, and Cousins has been very poor. His job is definitely in question after Sunday’s performance if it wasn’t already.