They say the third time is the charm, right? Well, in this case, New Orleans Saints quarterback Shough is probably hoping that phrase rings true. Going up against veteran Kirk Cousins for the third time in his career, Shough will be looking for his first win against the Las Vegas Raiders QB.
The first game between the two wasn't close, with Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons beating the Shough mid-hot streak 24-10. Their next meeting was a bit closer but still ended in a New Orleans L, even though it was the finale of the aforementioned hot streak. Two different games with two different scripts, but with the same ending.
Shough was trending upward through the final five games last season while Cousins floundered, with the younger quarterback completing a higher percentage of his passes for nearly 300 more yards. But still somehow, the Saints have lost each time. Cousins seems to have Shough's number even when he gets outperformed by the younger quarterback.
When the Saints take on the Raiders, it'll be two hot streaks colliding
A lot's happened in the offseason and the couple of games since their last meeting, with Cousins not even in Atlanta anymore. He's reunited with his old offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, in the Sin City, who also happens to be a former Saints OC. This Sunday as he returns to New Orleans, it'll be interesting to see if Shough's luck against Cousins carries over.
So far this season, the Saints captain has continued his hot streak, leading the NFL in passing yards through two weeks with 662. Cousins, meanwhile, must've needed a change of scenery and was top of the league in terms of passing touchdowns through two weeks. Both they and their respective teams are on the up and up now; it won't be easy for Shough to break his losing streak against the veteran.
It's a battle of two league leaders, albeit Cousins is tied with about three other quarterbacks in the pass touchdown statistic. This Sunday will be a proving ground for both trends, with Shough trying to finally beat the visiting quarterback and Cousins trying to push the Raiders to just their second 3-0 start in the past 20 seasons.
Shough is 0-2 against Cousins heading into this game, except this time he's no longer a rookie with a need to prove himself. Furthermore, he also has a lot more weapons this time around and a lot more coach trust. Now an established starter, the new Saints franchise quarterback has a chance to get this particular monkey off his back.
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