Who Should I Start? Kirk Cousins or C.J. Beathard

Friday, September 15, 12:04 AM

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 31-of-44 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns in Thursday's 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. After a quiet first period, the 35-year-old hooked up with T.J. Hockenson for a five-yard score to put the Vikings in the scoring column early in the second quarter. Playing in catch-up mode in the second half, Cousins uncorked a deep ball for a 62-yard Jordan Addison TD in the third quarter. K.J. Osborn then came loose for a wide-open score before Cousins connected with Hockenson for another five-yard end-zone visit in the fourth period. Cousins only took two sacks, but was still under duress for much of the night without center Garrett Bradbury (back) against Philly's ravenous defensive line. Minnesota was dominated in time of possession in this one, making Cousins' line even more impressive. The four-time Pro Bowler may have to keep letting it rip to keep pace with the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, where Cousins will be a solid QB1 streamer.

Sunday, August 27, 3:07 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback C.J. Beathard went 8-for-10 for 134 yards, a touchdown, and a near-perfect passer rating of 152.1 in Saturday's 31-18 preseason win over the Miami Dolphins. The vet came into camp with a leg up on rookie Nathan Rourke for the QB2 spot behind Trevor Lawrence, but the latter has been applying some pressure with his play through two games. Beathard was the second QB to take over after Lawrence in this one, leading three consecutive scoring drives to close out the first half. The performance was highlighted by a 74-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Tim Jones, who broke open on the left side of the field and cruised in untouched for the score. Rourke quarterbacked the entire second half of the game, which saw the Jaguars put up two more touchdowns. Still, the Ohio native finished with a measly 74 passing yards on only six attempts, as Jacksonville opted to go with a more ground-heavy attack. At this point, Beathard has held onto his QB2 position but is still firmly off the fantasy radar unless something happens to Lawrence.