The Washington Redskins' blowout win over the New Orleans Saints was bigger than football for Kirk Cousins.
Cousins had a special fan in attendance to see him play -- his dad.
The Redskins quarterback's dad, Don, has cancer. He was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma around the start of training camp, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Due to cancer treatment and weight loss, Don was unable to attend his son's games this season. But that all changed on Sunday, and he picked a great game to be at.
Cousins threw for 324 yards and had four touchdown passes resulting in a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the Redskins' 47-14 win. His performance led to him exiting the game late in the second half. He kept the game ball from his career day to give to his dad.
"To have him back was exciting, and then to have a game like that was a lot of fun, giving him the game ball," Cousins told CSN Mid-Atlantic. "And he just said, 'Thank you. Thanks for a great day.' It put a smile on his face. And it was special for our family, and we'll enjoy it tonight."
This year has been bittersweet for Cousins. On one hand he was named Washington's starting QB, but off the field, on a more serious note, his dad is fighting cancer.
"It's been kind of tough, but it's part of life," Cousins said. "And you just kind of work through it and trust God's plan."
Through it all, Cousins has led his team to a 4-5 record through Week 10, and they are right in the middle of the NFC East division race. The Redskins only won four games all of last season.
"Rewarding and satisfying," Cousins said after the win. "Because coaches and other guys are working so hard. It's just a great (team) performance, a team win, and you want to put together a string of performances like that. But a really positive day. I mean, you can't draw it up better than that."
