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NFC North Quarterback power rankings: Detroit Lions near the top

By Ash Thompson

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 08: Quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions throws the ball down field against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field on October 8, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 08: Quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions throws the ball down field against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field on October 8, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 17: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins is sacked by outside linebacker Chandler Jones #55 of the Arizona Cardinals in the first quarter at FedEx Field on December 17, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 17: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins is sacked by outside linebacker Chandler Jones #55 of the Arizona Cardinals in the first quarter at FedEx Field on December 17, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Kirk Cousins

The Minnesota Vikings apparently did not like their quarterbacking in 2017. They went out and spent a ton of money on what amounts to a minor upgrade over that performance. I like Kirk Cousins. Something about the story of a kid who came in as the guy destined to be the backup to RGIII hits me in the heart. Something about the guy who focused on doing what the coaches wanted him to do rather than his brand appeals to me. The guy who focused on football is my guy. The guy felt jerked around by his billionaire boss and he told them to stick it before signing the richest per season contract in NFL history somewhere else. That guy just makes me smile. I can feel that Kirk, I really can. But you’re still the third best quarterback in the division.

Let’s go down the list of knocks on Stafford. He hasn’t won a playoff game. Neither has Cousins if we’re using that idiotic measurement of quarterback play. Stafford doesn’t win games. Again, this is a moronic way to judge quarterback play, but if we’re going there Cousins has a career record of 26-30-1: a .460 winning percentage, so neither does he. Matthew Stafford has a higher career winning percentage of .480 despite taking over a team that went 0-16 the season before his arrival and took three years to put a half decent team around him.

Cousins has the reputation of being a smooth game manager who takes care of the ball, but he’s got a higher career interception percentage than Stafford. Cousins also has a bit of a reputation as a comeback artist. The truth here is that Stafford engineered the same number of fourth-quarter comebacks in 2016 alone as Cousins has in his entire career.

Pro Football reference has a statistic they use to track whether a player is responsible for good or bad plays for their team. It is called Approximate Value or AV. They rank every player in the NFL. Both Stafford and Cousins rank highly, but over the last three years Stafford has the slight edge and has been ahead two out of three seasons that Cousins has been a full-time starter. Cousins has the slight edge in Pro Football Focus rankings. Their three season average is within one slot. Last year though, Stafford was the better performer by 13 spots.

Cousins does have a higher career completion percentage and a slightly higher touchdown percentage. They have similar touchdown to interception ratios as well. For me, this is a ranking that covers a margin the size of a pinhead. Stafford is coming off a good season, and Cousins is coming off a relatively weak season. Right now Cousins is number three in the division.

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