The Cowboys will see a familiar face when they roll into Atlanta on Sunday. Although in his first season with the Falcons, quarterback Kirk Cousins will be facing Dallas for the 12th time in his career. The previous 11 occasions came while he was lining up behind center for first Washington and then Minnesota.
Cousin is currently fourth among active NFL quarterbacks in career passing touchdowns, totaling 284, while his 41,577 passing yards rank fifth. However, his battles with the Cowboys haven't been so favorable. He'll come into this matchup owning just a 2-9 personal record against Dallas.
With that in mind, here's a chronological look at the previous 11 games in which the Cowboys have faced (and often defeated) Kirk Cousins:
Let's take a chronological look at the previous 11 games in which the Cowboys have faced Kirk Cousins.
Dec. 22, 2013 • Dallas 24 at Washington 23
Although entering the league in 2012 as a fourth-round draft pick, Kirk Cousins didn't face the Cowboys until the next year. Four seconds into the fourth quarter, Dallas found itself down 23-14. But after Dan Bailey kicked a field goal, Tony Romo then drove the Cowboys 87 yards in nine plays, the last of which was a 10-yard pass to running back DeMarco Murray with 1:16 remaining for the win.
Dec. 7, 2015 • Dallas 19 at Washington 16
Despite the low score, this one was a wild affair. The Cowboys took a 16-9 lead with 1:14 remaining in the game, but a 41-yard return on the ensuing kickoff resulted in a 28-yard Kirk Cousins touchdown pass that tied things up with only 44 seconds left. However, Lucky Whitehead returned the favor for Dallas, bringing Washington's kick back 46 yards. That left it to Dan Bailey to boot a 54-yard game-winning field goal with just 14 seconds on the clock.
Jan. 3, 2016 • Dallas 23 vs. Washington 34
Nothing went right for the Cowboys at the start of this one. Thanks to quarterback Kellen Moore tossing an interception and fumbling the ball as well, Kirk Cousins was able to throw three touchdown passes in the first quarter alone. Dallas outscored Washington 23-13 the rest of the way, which included a pair of touchdown catches from Cole Beasley, but in the end, the huge deficit was just too much to overcome.
Sept. 18, 2016 • Dallas 27 at Washington 23
The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-lead but actually found themselves trailing, 23-20, heading into the fourth quarter. However, on third-and-goal at the Dallas 6-yard line, Kirk Cousins was intercepted by safety Barry Church. Behind rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas then marched right back down the field with former Redskins running back Alfred Morris getting the winning touchdown honors with a 4-yard run.
Nov. 24, 2016 • Dallas 31 vs. Washington 26
This was a banner day for Kirk Cousins as the Washington quarterback threw for 449 yards and three touchdowns. But it wasn't enough. With 195 yards through the air and 163 on the ground, the Cowboys took a 17-6 lead into halftime, kept the game scoreless in the third quarter and then survived a 20-14 shootout in the fourth. The Redskins scored with 1:53 remaining to pull to within five points, but Dallas recovered the onside kick, game over.
Oct. 29, 2017 • Dallas 33 at Washington 19
Washington was down seven but had the ball with 54 seconds left in the game. Fourteen seconds later, it was over. That's when Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones picked off a Kirk Cousins pass and returned it 21 yards for the touchdown to secure the win. Ezekiel Elliott handled the offensive workload with 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns while the Cowboys defense overall also recorded two fumble recoveries and four sacks.
Nov. 30, 2017 • Dallas 38 vs. Washington 14
Dak Prescott completed only 11 passes for 102 yards, but it was enough to lead the Cowboys to a relatively easy win. That's because running back Alfred Morris got a little revenge on his old team, as he rushed for 127 yards, the fourth highest total of his career, with a touchdown. Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins endured a tough day. He threw two interceptions, lost one of his two fumbles and was sacked four times.
Nov. 10, 2019 • Dallas 24 vs. Minnesota 28
Kirk Cousins was in his second seasons with the Vikings, but this was his first time facing Dallas while wearing purple. However, the real thorn in the Cowboys' side was running back Dalvin Cook. Though now residing in Dallas, he racked up 183 yards from scrimmage for Minnesota in this one with the deciding touchdown. Dak Prescott threw for 397 yards and three touchdowns with Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb both surpassing 100 yards receiving in the losing effort.
Nov. 22, 2020 • Dallas 31 at Minnesota 28
After Kirk Cousins connected with Justin Jefferson on a 39-yard touchdown pass, the Cowboys found themselves trailing by four points when they got the ball back with four minutes left in the game. But filling in for the injured Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton completed five passes for 37 yards during the drive, the last of which was a game-winning 2-yard touchdown toss to tight end Dalton Schultz with just 1:37 left on the clock.
Oct. 31, 2021 • Dallas 20 at Minnesota 16
This was the famed Cooper Rush Game when the backup quarterback outdueled Kirk Cousins in leading Dallas to a late come-from-behind victory. Rush's first scoring pass of the night was a 73-yarder to wideout Cedrick Wilson, but his last pass was also a touchdown, a 5-yard completion to Amari Cooper with just 51 seconds left to secure the win. Overall, Rush totaled 325 passing yards to Cousins' 184.
Nov. 20, 2022 • Dallas 40 at Minnesota 3
This is a game that Kirk Cousins would probably just like to forget. He threw for only 105 yards and was sacked a career-high seven times with Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong each recording two of those takedowns. It got so bad that Cousins was replaced after three quarters, perhaps thankful to be away from Dallas' defensive onslaught. On the other side of the ball, Dak Prescott completed 88 percent of his passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns.
