How would Buffalo perform with Kirk Cousins?

[Mikie2times]

Would the Bills be a much different team than the Vikings the last few years if we swapped QB's? 

 

I started thinking the other day "what if Josh got hurt". We would be done I thought. I considered if that meant anything. That from my perspective we had no ability to support the loss of Allen when perhaps other teams sort of could. Bengals, Vikings, stayed in the playoff radar all year last season. Flacco took the Browns to the playoffs. Others stayed in the mix more so than I would expect Buffalo to. 

 

I decided to move the goal posts. What if it wasn't Josh, what if it was, I don't know, Kirk Cousins?  Then what happens....

 

So not a back up but what the NFL feels is an above average QB.  So would Buffalo be as good as Minnesota has been with Kirk Cousins as a starting QB?  Again, I don't think they would. I think we could get to a wild card game but our ceiling would be no higher than the Vikings and in my opinion it would actually be lower. 

 

Curious what peoples thoughts are on this and if that says anything to them about the strength/development of our roster?

[Buffalo_Stampede]

They’d be good. Not sure how good. But the offense with Diggs and Cousins wouldn’t be terrible. People forget how great the defense has been since 2019.
 

Bills regular season points allowed rankings. 

 

2019 - 2nd

2020 - 16th

2021 - 1st

2022 - 2nd

2023 - 4th

I think the Bills win at least 2 division titles and maybe 3 with Cousins.

 

[msw2112]

Cousins is a solid NFL starting QB and at times a good one.  Allen is a superstar.  The Bills are a 9-7 team with Cousins.

[LeGOATski]

16 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

Would the Bills be a much different team than the Vikings the last few years if we swapped QB's? 

 

I started thinking the other day "what if Josh got hurt". We would be done I thought. I considered if that meant anything. That from my perspective we had no ability to support the loss of Allen when perhaps other teams sort of could. Bengals, Vikings, stayed in the playoff radar all year last season. Flacco took the Browns to the playoffs. Others stayed in the mix more so than I would expect Buffalo to. 

 

I decided to move the goal posts. What if it wasn't Josh, what if it was, I don't know, Kirk Cousins?  Then what happens....

 

So not a back up but what the NFL feels is an above average QB.  So would Buffalo be as good as Minnesota has been with Kirk Cousins as a starting QB?  Again, I don't think they would. I think we could get to a wild card game but our ceiling would be no higher than the Vikings and in my opinion it would actually be lower. 

 

Curious what peoples thoughts are on this and if that says anything to them about the strength/development of our roster?

What's your supporting argument for thinking they would not be as good?

 

We can point to the Bills breaking the playoff drought with Tyrod Taylor and Co.

 

I think "the process" is there for the Bills to be a playoff caliber (not championship caliber) team with any above-average QB under center.

 

For Bills fans focusing solely on the Bills, I think perspective can be skewed a bit. For a few years now, the Bills have had one of the better overall rosters in the league. With Cousins playing QB, they'd probably still win the AFCE, but at least be a WC.

[DapperCam]

I think the Bills would have a slightly worse regular season record and probably a much worse playoff record.

 

Cousins is a really good QB, but doesn’t have Allen’s ability to pull a drive out of his butt with the game on the line.

[uticaclub]

Wild card team instead of a division team, and losing in blowouts in the playoffs instead of close games.

[Mikie2times]

6 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

What's your supporting argument for thinking they would not be as good?

 

We can point to the Bills breaking the playoff drought with Tyrod Taylor and Co.

 

I think "the process" is there for the Bills to be a playoff caliber (not championship caliber) team with any above-average QB under center.

 

For Bills fans focusing solely on the Bills, I think perspective can be skewed a bit. For a few years now, the Bills have had one of the better overall rosters in the league. With Cousins playing QB, they'd probably still win the AFCE, but at least be a WC.

They went 50-37 with him making the playoffs multiple times and beating us at home.

 

I just think everything looks different if Allen is gone. I don't know how Cousins could use these weapons. I don't know if the threat of the running game is present. I don't know if the defense wears down as the offensive production declines.

[SoCal Deek]

I’ll never forget attending the Bills game at Minnesota a few years ago. The Bills blew the Vikings away early….and there was Kirk Cousins still throwing four yard patterns to the bitter end. The Vikings fans sitting all around us had their collective heads buried in their hands. 

[GoBills808]

50 minutes ago, DapperCam said:

I think the Bills would have a slightly worse regular season record and probably a much worse playoff record.

 

Cousins is a really good QB, but doesn’t have Allen’s ability to pull a drive out of his butt with the game on the line.

Correct imo

 

Like the Chiefs w Alex Smith vs Mahomes

[Alphadawg7]

Bills would be noticeably worse with Cousins.  A huge part of the Bills offense has been Allen’s ability to mask a mediocre OL (or worse) and mediocre to non existent run game using his own legs in several of those years.  
 

Just look at how much Diggs production leaped with Allen.  

[LeGOATski]

52 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

They went 50-37 with him making the playoffs multiple times and beating us at home.

 

I just think everything looks different if Allen is gone. I don't know how Cousins could use these weapons. I don't know if the threat of the running game is present. I don't know if the defense wears down as the offensive production declines.

You think they'd get all the same players if Cousins was their QB? You think they'd have the same play calling and strategies?

[Mikie2times]

1 hour ago, LeGOATski said:

You think they'd get all the same players if Cousins was their QB? You think they'd have the same play calling and strategies?

Would we get better players? Would Brady not be our OC?

 

If this change would completely alter the way this team is built I would be very surprised, I might even be concerned. 

Edited June 19 by Mikie2times

[Patrick Duffy]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

They’d be good. Not sure how good. But the offense with Diggs and Cousins wouldn’t be terrible. People forget how great the defense has been since 2019.
 

Bills regular season points allowed rankings. 

 

2019 - 2nd

2020 - 16th

2021 - 1st

2022 - 2nd

2023 - 4th

I think the Bills win at least 2 division titles and maybe 3 with Cousins.

 

 

Wow I have a real difficult time trying to find any reason that you feel confident enough to see "at least 2 division titles and maybe 3". I would say possibly could have won 1.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

5 minutes ago, Patrick Duffy said:

 

Wow I have a real difficult time trying to find any reason that you feel confident enough to see "at least 2 division titles and maybe 3". I would say possibly could have won 1.

The division has sucked. Cousins would easily be the best QB in the division from 2020-2022. And the Bills defense would still dominate bad teams. 
 

 

Edited June 18 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Billl]

20 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Bills would be noticeably worse with Cousins.  A huge part of the Bills offense has been Allen’s ability to mask a mediocre OL (or worse) and mediocre to non existent run game using his own legs in several of those years.  
 

Just look at how much Diggs production leaped with Allen.  

Diggs’s production leaped with Allen because his targets went from 94 to 166.  Allen’s obviously a much better QB than Cousins, but Stef also saw 80% more targets.

[Jon in Pasadena]

Like Heather Graham in "Boogie Nights"

[Patrick Duffy]

Just now, Buffalo_Stampede said:

The division has sucked.

 

I get that, but I still don't have the amount of confidence about Cousins as a few others might have. That being said, I think of Cousins as average and even with advantage of being in a bad division I don't feel confident he could win multiple division titles. But anyways, that's just me....

[BullBuchanan]

I think we'd be in the same general vicinity but we'd drop half a tier. We would have lost some games we won, but we still would have racked up division championships. We wouldn't have gone on a 6 game win streak like we did last year, but we wouldn't have lost a bunch of those early season games either.

We'd have less playoff wins, but the same amount of Super Bowl rings.

Slightly higher floor, a lot lower ceiling

[sven233]

People would see real quick just how many problems Allen masks on this team.  We wouldn't be a Playoff team with Cousins.

[Freddie's Dead]

I was screaming for either Russ or Captain in the 2012 draft, but Nixley (Whalnix?) eschewed them both to move up and take TJumptomakeacatch Graham.    *****in' Whalnix, Nixley....

 

If we get Russ or Captain, The Bills break the drought well before Tuhrod.  Who knows, maybe Whaley doesn't burn down the future for Samuel, and we get Mack instead.  Perchance to dream....