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Last season there was a narrative that Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins offense could not score touchdowns in the red zone. To be honest it was a fair assessment, as the Redskins were 16th in the NFL, converting on 54.4 percent of their red zone trips into touchdown and that was an upgrade from their 45.9 percent in 2016, per Team Rankings.
This off-season the Redskins opted to acquire quarterback Alex Smith from the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade, effectively ending Cousins’ time with the franchise that drafted him in the fourth round of 2012 NFL Draft.
Cousins may have struggled in the red zone, but Smith may not be much of an upgrade. In fact, Smith may actually be a downgrade from Cousins depending on how you look at their previous performances inside the 20-yard line.
Last season, Cousins completed 33-of-63 passes (52.4 percent) for 230 yards, 16 touchdowns and three interceptions. Smith completed 31-of-68 passes (45.6 percent) for 196 yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Cousins completion percentage and yards were better. He also threw for more touchdowns than Smith, but turned the ball over more through the air.
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Looking deeper into their numbers, going back to when Cousins was named the full-time starter at quarterback for the Redskins in 2015, he best Smith each of the past three seasons in the red zone.
There have been rumblings of Smith having more of a sense to extend plays and move with his feet in the time of need. However, in the red zone it was Cousins who appeared to move more, rushing for four touchdowns and gaining six first downs with his legs, last season. Smith on the other hand only attempted six carries, scoring one touchdown and gaining one first down in the red zone with his legs.
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Cousins attacked defenses with more aggression throwing passes and keep in mind that comes with a couple of his top red zone targets being injured through the years, mainly tight end Jordan Reed.
Last season as a whole, the Redskins were a better red zone team than the Chiefs. The Chiefs finished 29th in the NFL in red zone touchdown conversions (45.3 percent) and that was with a better running attack led by last year’s rookie sensation Kareem Hunt along with the dynamic receiving duo of tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Meanwhile, the Redskins finished 13 spots better despite red zone targets Terrelle Pryor missing seven games and Reed missing 10.
Now there are variables to any stat, but there is no question factoring in the injuries the Redskins went through in 2017, Smith had the better talent around him in Kansas City and yet Cousins was better in the red zone.
Cousins is now in Minnesota, and Smith has relatively the same personnel around him, especially at wide receiver and tight end. It will be interesting to see if Smith can improve on the Redskins’ dreadful struggles in the red zone or not. Judging by preseason, Smith and company have a long way to go to do that.
