Kirk Cousins

Cousins may have lit it up last week but everyone does against Philly, plus he had to throw because they had a pass funnel defense. This week he gets the opposite in Detroit so expect them to return to a run-heavy gameplan.

Cousins has been good the past two weeks, but those two games were against the worst secondaries in the league. Damper your expectations this week for Cousins, as he is nothing more than a bye week fill-in.

The one part many are missing here is that Cousins has still thrown just 56 passes in those two games. The Vikings were and still are a run-first team. Their 47:53 run to pass ratio is the second-most run-heavy in the league, so he needs to get it done on efficiency, or he's not going to be a very good fantasy option. The Lions have not been a team who's allowed very good efficiency, as quarterbacks have completed just 56.5 percent of passes (3rd-lowest mark in the league, behind only the Patriots and 49ers) and averaged just 7.04 yards per attempt. In two games against the Lions last year, Cousins threw the ball just 50 times in the two games combined. The good news for Cousins is that the Lions opponents have averaged a league-high 69.8 plays per game, which is quite the difference from the 59.2 plays per game the Vikings average. There should be more plays available because of that, but with how generous the Lions have been on the ground this year, it could just mean more rushing attempts. Gamescript will matter in this game, and if the Lions jump out in front, they'll likely slow the game down quite a bit. Cousins should be considered a middling QB2 this week who will likely come back down to earth.

Passing revival in last two weeks but still not fully trustworthy