Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott are two mid-to-upper tier quarterbacks, though they are seen and ranked very differently from each other. In the recent Top 100 Players of 2022, Cousins was ranked 99th while Dak was ranked 44th. So, given the gap, is Dak really better than Cousins? Well after giving it some thought, I think the two are very similar, if not pretty much the same quarterback. Sure, Dak and Kirk have different qualities, but their statistics and careers are fairly similar. So, with all of that said, let’s see how similar the two are and who is the better quarterback.
Kirk Cousins
Career in Washington
Cousins spent six years in Washington, although he only played in 14 games in his first three years. He started 57 games with the Commanders, leading them to a 26-30-1 record. Cousins had a completion percentage of 65.5%, throwing for 16,206 yards, 99 touchdowns, 55 interceptions and a passer rating of 93.7. He also averaged 261.4 yards per game with 7.7 yards per pass attempt.
Career in Minnesota
Coming to Minnesota Cousins only got better. He started 63 games, leading the Vikings to a 33-29-1 record. He had a completion percentage of 68.3%, throwing for 16,387 yards, 124 touchdowns, 36 interceptions, and a passer rating of 103.5. Cousins also averaged 260.1 yards per game with 7.7 yards per attempt.
Cousins’ career statistics are 120 starts with a record of 59-59-2. He has a completion percentage of 66.9%, throwing for 32,593 yards, 223 touchdowns, 91 interceptions with a passer rating of 98.6. Cousins has also averaged 260.7 yards per game with 7.7 yards per attempt.
Postseason
Cousins has only made the playoffs three times in his career. He made the playoffs twice in Washington in 2012 and 2015, although he only started in 2015. The other time he made the playoffs was in 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins has played in four postseason games with a record of 1-2 in three starts. He has a completion percentage of 62.1%, throwing for 774 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception with a passer rating of 86.6. He also averaged 193.5 yards per game with 6.9 yards per attempt.
All of Cousins’ playoff stats are below his career average. His completion percentage is down 4.8% and his passer rating is down 12 points. Though a small sample size, he doesn’t seem to be as sharp come the postseason as he is in the regular season. Both Cousins’ yards per game (down 67.2 yards) and yards per attempt (down 0.8 yards) were both below his regular season averages.
Dak Prescott
Career Statistics
Dak’s career statistics in Dallas are 85 starts with a record of 53-32. He has a completion percentage of 66.6%, throwing for 22,083 yards, 143 touchdowns, and 50 interceptions and a passer rating of 98.7. Dak also averages 259.8 yards per game with 7.6 yards per attempt. I will mention that Dak did miss most of 2020 after needing surgery on a dislocated ankle, only playing in five games.
Postseason
Dak has made the playoffs three times, in 2016, 2018, and 2021. Dak has started in four playoffs games leading Dallas to a 1-3 record. He has a completion percentage of 61%, throwing for 1,048 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions and a passer rating of 87.9. He also averages 262.0 yards per game with 7.2 yards per attempt.
Compared to Dak’s regular season career stats, he too is below average when compared to his regular season statistics. He has a 5.6% lower completion percentage, and his passer rating is 10.8 points lower in the postseason. His yards per attempt was also down 0.4 yards, while his yards per game increased by 2.2 yards in the playoffs.
Who’s Better?
Well, Kirk has about four years on Dak. Cousins has played 40 more games than Dak in his career. Dak’s winning percentage is .624 while Cousins is .500. Don’t buy into this gap as much as you think you need to. Cousins spent six years on a bad to mediocre Washington team. He only started nine times in his first three years before getting the starting nod in his last three. His winning percentage in Washington was a .456, while in Minnesota it was .524. When Cousins went to the better team, his winning percentage improved, something Dak hasn’t had to deal with.
Regular Season
Their career regular season stats matchup fairly evenly. Their completion percentages are 66.6 (Dak) and 66.9 (Cousins), a difference of 0.3. There is a gap for passing yards with Dak having 22,083 to Cousins 32,593. Kirk has over 10,000 more yards than Dak but has also played 40 more games than him. This gap in games played is also seen in touchdowns and interceptions. Cousins has 223 touchdowns and 91 interceptions. Dak on the other hand only has 143 touchdowns and 50 interceptions. These are a difference of 80 touchdowns and 41 interceptions.
The statisitics get closer again as they share a 0.1 difference in yards per attempt and passer rating. Cousins has a 7.7 (YPA) and 98.6 (passer rating) while Dak is at a 7.6 (YPA) and a 98.7 (passer rating). Dak averages 259.8 yards per game while Cousins averages 260.7, another narrow gap of 0.9. So, outside of the number of games played creating the largest difference between the two in passing yards, touchdowns, and interceptions, the two are dead even in their regular season statistics.
Playoffs
So, the last factor is their playoff statistics. Dak has played in four playoffs games and owns a record of 1-3. Kirk has appeared in four playoff games and has a record of 1-2. Cousins started in only three of his four games. In the playoffs, Dak has a completion percentage of 61% while Kirk has one of 62.1%, a difference of 1.1%. Kirk has thrown for 774 yards compared to Dak’s 1,048 yards, 274 more than Cousins. Dak has six touchdowns to Cousins three but has three interceptions to Cousins’ one. Kirk averages 6.7 yards per attempt while Dak averages 7.2, a difference of 0.5 yards. In yards per game, Dak averages 262.0 yards to Cousins 193.5, a massive gap of 68.5 yards per game. Lastly is passer rating in which Cousins has an 86.6 to Dak’s rating of 87.9, a difference of 1.3.
So, what does all of this say? Well, the two are practically the same. Dak boasts a better winning percentage while Cousins has a much higher passing yards and touchdown totals. There are other factors such as leadership and veteran status, ect., but it seems like a coin flip between the two in who is better. Picking who is better here is like splitting hairs, but I would say Kirk is better, but just barely. For me, it is what Cousins has done being on teams and situations worse than what Dak has had in Dallas. Dak has had great teams and talent around him, while Kirk has struggled with this in Washington. It seems that a lot of people have either greatly overrated Dak Prescott or massively underrated Kirk Cousins. Either way, the two are very much the same, with Kirk being the slightly better one in my opinion.
