Dallas Cowboys: Is Dak Prescott the NFC East’s best QB?

 #2 — Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins

No NFC East quarterback threw for more passing yards than Cousins last year. In fact, his 4,917 yards ranked him number three behind just Matt Ryan and Drew Brees in the entire NFL. For the season, he averaged over 300 yards passing per game.

That can deceive, though. Considering that Washington played from behind quite a bit in 2016, those numbers hold a slightly different meaning. Yet, he still showed great efficiency when he did pass.

He threw just 12 picks and his 8.1 yards per passing attempt set the pace for the NFC East quarterbacks. Cousins even ran for four touchdowns, adding a wrinkle of versatility to his game that some may not expect from him. His 97.2 passer rating in 2016 ranked him seventh in the league and his 67% completion percentage ranked him eighth.

It’s very hard to beat what Cousins did last season. Despite finding himself consistently behind the eight ball, he did his best to put the Redskins in position to win. But as many of the greats have proven, it takes more than just a great quarterback to win in the NFL: despite what some people will tell you.

Expect more of the same this season. He may throw a little less as his defense faces some less stellar offenses. But as far as completion percentage, rating and interception percentage, he should perform pretty close to his career base average. Washington may struggle again in 2017, but it won’t be on account of Cousins.