In all five of the Green Bay Packers’ losses, the opponent’s quarterback has a passer rating higher or equal to that of Aaron Rodgers: Vikings’ Sam Bradford (99.9), Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (106.2) , Falcons’ Matt Ryan (115.1), Colts’ Andrew Luck (93.9, identical to Rodgers), and Titans’ Marcus Mariota (99.6).
Here’s a bad omen: Redskins’ quarterback Kirk Cousins, who faces off against the Packers this weekend, has a rating of 94.8.
Cousins’ career has started out very similarly to that of Rodgers. Each had three years of spot playing, then became the starting QB in their fourth year in the league. For Aaron, that year was 2008, while for Cousins it was last year. Here are Cousins’ numbers for his first year as a starter, with Aaron’s in parentheses: 69.8 completion percentage (63.6); 4,166 passing yards (4,038); 29 touchdowns (28); 11 interceptions (13), and a 101.6 passer rating (93.8).
In all five categories, the Redskins’ QB has slightly outperformed Rodgers – like the Titans’ Marcus Mariota of the week before, the Packers have another emerging NFL passing star to contend with.
If anything, Cousins is still getting better in many ways this year. He’s averaging 302 yards per game, fifth best in the NFL (Rodgers ranks 14th), and his completion percentage is 66.9, seventh best (Rodgers ranks 20th).
In Rodgers’ last three games, all losses, his passer rating has gone from 125.5 to 94.8 to 79.8. He’ll have to reverse that trend in a big way if the Packers are to be competitive on Sunday.