Maritime tradition holds that the captain of the ship holds ultimate responsibility for both the ship and everyone embarked on it. One of the famous captains of the most famous ships is Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise.
It is also the nickname namesake of the Washington Redskins starting quarterback “Captain“ Kirk Cousins. Cousins is the leader of this team, and the ship so to speak, and his 4th quarter interception sank this ship into an 0-2 record that now sits perilously close to falling into the depths of the ocean floor as Redskins head into next week’s game against the division leading New York Giants at the Meadowlands.
The fact that this loss came against a hated division rival stings even more.
Captain James T. Kirk had many rivals, but one of his most hated was a genetically engineered tyrant named Kahn Noonien Singh known for his “superior intellect”. Kahn, talks some mad trash in this movie. Very similar to what I heard at FedEx Field from Cowboy fans both entering and leaving the game. One of my favorite exchanges in the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn is annotated below:
Khan: I’ve done far worse than kill you. I’ve hurt you. And I wish to go on… hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her. Marooned for all eternity, in the center of a dead planet… buried alive. Buried alive.
James T. Kirk: KHHHHAAAAAAAAN!
Kahn indeed.
The Redskins haven’t beaten the Cowboys at home since 2012, and it’s no wonder with the amount of Cowboy fans that make their way into the stadium to cheer on their team that it must of felt a little like a home game for them.
This is no knock on the Redskins faithful that actually attend games. They should be commended for their loyalty and bravery for the pitiful home record the team has built the last several decades. That any Redskins fans attend any game at all, should be commended with adulation, many thanks and a free coupon to the closest mental health institute.
That being said it was a great game to watch with both teams exchanging leads and battling it out on the field.
This game showed that the Redskins defense will be a weak spot for this team moving forward. With no pass rush and no way of stopping the run it looks like this defense will bend AND break.
One has to start to question whether Joe Barry has a way to creatively rush the passer and send more blitzes at a rookie quarterback like Dak Prescott when the Cowboys were facing 3rd and longs. We’ll never know. As Barry seems averse to actually applying pressure no matter the circumstance.
The Redskins offense finally seemed to catch on and gain some momentum but then inexplicably decided to throw fades to WR Josh Doctson 4 times in the end zone and couldn’t connect. Where if the team had a running game it trusted, it could have easily busted into the end zone for scores. The coaching staff seemed intent on focusing on the 1st round draft choice’s supposed redzone skill set at the expense of the team.
Cousins was playing with confidence by the time the 4th quarter rolled around and as he lead the team down the field it looked like he was ready to expand their lead by 10 points. Cousins then made a hair pulling, gut wrenching, hand wringing, expletive laced move. He threw another Cousins patented interception, into triple coverage nonetheless.
You could feel the air rush out of stadium as everyone knew what was going to happen next as the Cowboys marched down the field and had Alfred Morris run into the endzone almost untouched for a perfect miserable ending.
Cousins showed grit but he lacks poise and situational awareness. Don’t be surprised if he continues this streak of incompetence into next week as the Giants are a winning team and we all know how Cousins fares against winning teams.
More than anything all the swagger and confidence this team had coming into the season is now gone and rightfully so, as they seem to act like a defending division champion in name only.
Cousins can’t ride on a catchy phrase for another year or expect a 21 point comeback to change the season.
The time has come for him to elevate his play. He needs to improve his accuracy and most importantly, his decision making skills.
The ship is starting to sink and if he’s not careful, the Captain will go down with it.
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