As NFL preseason gets underway this week, many fans are ready for some football. For Christian fans seeking a side of faith and family values, a new Netflix series delivers — at least partially.
In “Quarterback,” a new series released mid-July, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins gets a lot of the credit for providing a faith-centered voice amid a show that doesn’t shy away from profanity, material excess and cutthroat competition. With that said, Cousins’ dedication to his faith in Jesus, wife Julie and two young boys definitely helps breath some wholesome Christian values into the chaos and the foul language that comes with the show.
The series follows the ups and downs of a season for Cousins, Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowl victories, and Marcus Mariota, who encounters disappointments on the field while leading the struggling Atlanta Falcons.
There is plenty of hard-hitting football action for NFL fans to enjoy combined with a look into the grueling schedules each player endures to prepare each week. Cameras follow them off the field as they seek to balance work and family. While both Cousins and Mariota appear to live a more modest lifestyle with their families, the two time Super Bowl-winning Mahomes shows off a little “extra” with his new digs.
One episode features Mahomes and his wife Brittany putting the finishing touches on their new Kansas City-area mansion — complete with a 50-yard football field, par-3 golf course, pool and indoor basketball court.
Faith in the spotlight
To the show’s credit, it doesn’t pull away on showing Cousins’ dedication to his Christian faith. Cousins is seen praying with his boys and singing “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand” with them at bedtime after losing a playoff game in one of the final episodes.
When asked about living out his faith in the NFL spotlight, Cousins shared in a previous interview about the discipline involved in staying consistent in his Christian walk.
“The spiritual disciplines are so important,” he said in a video interview on YouTube. “You never want to ignore the fact that you need to be spending time in prayer, spending time in Scripture, spending time with God, listening to God, trying to hear from Him. And have this daily walk with Him where it’s not compartmentalized to a Sunday church service. But it’s a daily life living with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and so that’s where I think it begins.”
Cousins added, “I think it’s also important to find community with other believers. So in a football locker room identifying who are the guys that want to do the same and how can we engage together in a Bible study, in a prayer time, and as the Bible says in Proverbs 27, how can we sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron.”
Family day
Throughout the football season, Cousins is known around the locker room for taking off every Tuesday to spend time with his family and to get caught up around the house — which includes going through fan mail and sending a written response.
While his wife, Julie, admits it’s not easy being the wife of an NFL quarterback, she savors her husband’s off day with the family.
“My love language happens to be quality time, so I don’t know how I could do this life without Tuesday. Because that is where I get quality time with Kirk. I can deal with ever other crazy day, not talking to him or not seeing him or sharing him with a million people, but I know Tuesday is coming. That day just really resets our entire family.”
‘Much more than football’
Cousins received the 2023 Bart Starr Award, given “to honor the NFL player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community.” The presentation, and Cousins’ emotional acceptance speech, is part of the season finale of “Quarterback.”
“Football will one day end. Life will be based on much more than football … one thing that can’t be taken from me is my personal relationship with Jesus.” — Kirk Cousins
“If you want to sum up the life of Bart Starr in a few words, you’d say things like leader, respected, humble, coachable, hard-working, persevering, faithful, loving husband and devoted father … however, you missed something very significant about Bart Starr if you also left out the word ‘Christian.’ Bart Star was a follower of Jesus,” Cousins said as he accepted the award.
“He understood this as I do today: Football will one day end. Life will be based on much more than football … one thing that can’t be taken from me is my personal relationship with Jesus.”
