Huge game this week and there is a lot more comfort about the offense now that Cousins is back and starting. After that last game, if they had asked KOC about the offense’s execution, he should have said (like John McKay may or may not have said) “I’m in favor of it”! Some other McKay one liners …
On the Struggling Buccaneers On winless streaks and performance: After an 0–26 start, he joked, “Three or four plane crashes and we’re in the playoffs”, and lamented, “We didn’t tackle well today, but we made
up for it by not blocking”. He also noted they could “Can’t stop the pass or the run, otherwise we’re in great shape” and requested a neutral site because they couldn’t play at home or on the road.
On Coaching & Football Philosophy
On strategy and players: He famously dismissed football emotion by comparing it to his wife Corky and defended giving O.J. Simpson the ball constantly because “it isn’t very heavy”. Down 17–0 at halftime to Notre Dame, he offered the simple math that “If you don’t score more than 17 points, you’ll lose” (USC rallied to win).
On Recruiting & Fan Pressure
On family and fans: When recruiting his son J.K. McKay to USC, he noted he had the advantage that he “slept with his mother”, and threatened to pay his way to “Peking” if he chose Stanford over USC. To handle hostile fan bases, he joked that he bought up all the rope in Los Angeles to prevent being hung in effigy.
Bum Phillips had some funny quotes too …
On Coaching & Football
On Job Security & Rivals: Quips included noting that coaches are split into “them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired”, and praising Don Shula’s ability to “take his’n and beat your’n and take your’n and beat his’n”.
On Team Struggles & Drive: Famously remarked, “The harder we played, the behinder we got”, criticized uncoachable extremes, and vowed that after knocking on the Super Bowl door, “Next year we’re going to kick the son of a bitch in!”.
On Life & Himself
Self-Deprecation & Humor: Remarked he didn’t mind people thinking he was stupid, just didn’t want to prove it, didn’t mind being called Bum without a “you” in front of it, and joked that he brought his wife on road trips because “she’s too ugly to kiss goodbye”.
The Astrodome: Noted that “Mama always said that if it can’t rain on you, you’re indoors” when explaining why he didn’t wear his cowboy hat inside the stadium.
… sorry, I digressed.
I have seen the “report” that the new Vikings regime is down on Caleb Banks and Norse4life posted a link to the story in a feed. Thanks. I will say that it is interesting and curious at best. Banks missed almost all of his final season at Florida and then broke his foot at the 2026 NFL Combine, which kept him out of OTAs, minicamp, and most of training camp. Judging a 6’6″, 327-pound rookie who missed an entire offseason of conditioning on just about 100 NFL snaps is an overreaction.
Also, and more importantly, you have to believe the BFlo had significant input into the Banks and Golday picks. If someone is going to criticize the Banks pick because he is not doing much yet then they should “man up” and criticize BFlo too. Problem with that is the Vikings have one of the top defensea in the NFL.
I believe the team knows exactly what it is doing with both Banks and Golday and are grooming them for their opportunity just like they did with Dallas Turner.
One good thing about Cousins this year is …
2026 Situational Splits by Game Score
Breaking down Cousins’s 2026 passing numbers across CBS Sports and NFL.com situational logs reveals a sharp contrast in volume and efficiency depending on the scoreboard:
Game State : Cmp / Att : Comp % : Yards : Yds / Att : TD : INT : Sacks : Passer Rating
Ahead (Leading) : 28 / 52 : 53.8% : 221 : 4.2 : 4 : 2 : 2 : 74.3
Tied : 44 / 68 : 64.7% : 511 : 7.5 : 4 : 1 : 4 : 100.8
Behind (Trailing) : 130 / 195 : 66.7% : 1,608 : 8.2 : 12 : 5 : 5 : 101.8
Total : 202 / 315 : 64.1% : 2,340 : 7.4 : 20 : 8 : 11 : 97.1
While nearly 69% of Cousins’s passing yards (1,608 of 2,340) came while trailing, looking closely at game scripts shows that most of those yards came in competitive, one-score losses rather than true garbage time.
True Blowout / Garbage-Time Games: Cousins played in three multi-score losses where late-game soft coverage inflated volume—a 45–17 loss at New England (Week 5), a 35–21 loss to the Rams (Week 7), and a 38–17 loss at San Francisco (Week 9). Even in those blowouts, Cousins threw only 4 total touchdowns against 3 interceptions, meaning garbage time did not heavily pad his touchdown totals.
Conservative Play-Calling While Leading: Cousins attempted just 52 passes all season while ahead, averaging only 4.2 yards per attempt. When Las Vegas held a lead—such as in their 27–13 win over Miami and 26–14 win over the Chargers—the offense leaned heavily on short, ball-control throws and the run game. When ahead by 1 to 8 points specifically, he was sharp in the red zone, throwing 4 touchdowns with 0 interceptions (100.8 passer rating).
Strong Performance in Neutral / Close Scripts: In tied game states (68 attempts) and within the 4th quarter of one-score games (±7 points), Cousins maintained a 100.8 and 108.8 passer rating respectively, confirming that his efficiency held up in high-leverage moments.
…
This is very comforting and confirms the way he played his first go round with KOC. Cousins tied the NFL single-season record with 8 fourth-quarter comebacks and 8 game-winning drives during his first season with head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2022.
The stats above prove that he plays best when the game is close or his team is behind.
You like that!
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Quarterback Kirk Cousins Starting Vikings at Packers Week 10 Game
https://www.vikings.com/news/kirk-cousins-starting-packers-week-10-game-2026
ustin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Tai Felton and Myles Price were playing a video game during Tuesday’s off day for Vikings players when news broke that Kirk Cousins would be rejoining the team.
“Jets was like, ‘It’s solidified. We got Kirk,’ ” Addison explained this week a few lockers down from the one that now has Cousins’ No. 8 jersey. “I was like, ‘Wow, Kirko Chainz is really back. It’s like 2023 all over again.’ “
…
Familiarity with the coaching staff and multiple teammates have helped Cousins reacclimate to the Vikings locker room this week.
“I cannot give him enough credit for coming in here, how he’s going about the week, both him and the coaching staff, getting him ready to go, working extremely hard, using all the time we possibly can,” O’Connell said. “It’s been really impressive what he’s been able to do and just the command and just getting right back in the huddle with a lot of guys he’s played with, but certainly some guys he hasn’t. And it’s been something that everybody’s been very, very impressed by.”
Addison sizzled in his time with Cousins — he caught 36 passes for 482 yards and seven touchdowns in his first eight pro games — but the sample size was shortened when Cousins suffered the injury in Week 8 of 2023 at Lambeau Field.
“I was super excited to get a guy of his caliber, and he’s familiar with the offense. He’s been around these weapons. Hopefully we get back on the same page, right where we left off,” said Addison, who was then asked to summarize Thursday’s practice and said, “It felt like he never left. The chemistry is still there.”
…
Jefferson, who launched his career at a prolific pace by snagging passes from Cousins from 2020-23, said “it’s definitely exciting to have a guy like him back in the building.”
“We know how he approaches the game, how he studies, how he is mentally and physically preparing for Sunday, so it’s just a joy to hear him just take over and be a leader in the meeting room or on the field,” Jefferson said. “It’s definitely a cool little situation.”
“I think he just understands the game. He’s a guy that studies the game a lot. He understands how the defenses play, especially covering me,” Jefferson said. “And he understands, just like he said the other day, the plays that we have called that are kind of my plays, and he understands that the timing and the windows to throw those type of plays, but he also doesn’t force those type of plays to me and he just lets the game come to him.”
…
“He’s accurate, he’s a great decision maker. He understands the game at a very, very high level, understands the passing game in the NFL and the rhythm and timing that separates plays from being successful or not,” O’Connell said. “And then I think on top of it, just the way he’s gone about it, the way you feel a command.
“It’s one thing to have command and ownership over plays in a system,” O’Connell continued. “And I think we talk a lot about that, but it’s more so about his job and his job impacting in a really positive way the other 10 guys in the huddle doing theirs, how he goes about it, the poise, the command of the huddle, the ownership of cadence, the ownership of the small details that he works really hard at to make sure that he can do those things because he knows how important it is.”
Although the practice week has wrapped, the coaching staff and QB planned additional time to continue going over things, using “every moment we have up until the game.”
“But I’m really looking forward to seeing him play,” O’Connell said. “It’s something we’ve always known about him, but the way he threw the football this week just was — it’s a really cool thing to see.”
Vikings at Packers Week 10 Game Preview
https://www.vikings.com/news/green-bay-packers-game-preview-nfl-week-10-2026
Vikings down key pieces for Week 10 matchup with Packers
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/vikings-down-key-pieces-week-221445007.html
NFL Expert Picks: Vikings and Packers Rivalry Renews for Week 10 at Lambeau Field
https://www.vikings.com/news/nfl-expert-picks-packers-rivalry-renews-week-10
Packers 27, Vikings 17 – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
Packers 23, Vikings 21 – Bill Bender, Sporting News
Packers 27, Vikings 23 – Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
0 of 5 experts pick the Vikings, NFL.com
2 of 7 experts pick the Vikings, Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report analysis Kris Knox: The Packers passing attack is white-hot, and Jordan Love probably isn’t getting enough attention as an MVP candidate.
However, I think Minnesota is primed to cool things off in a hurry. The Vikings have the best defense in the league right now, and I don’t think it’s particularly close.
Had Minnesota had any semblance of a competent offense on Monday night, it probably would have knocked off Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
1 of 8 experts pick the Vikings, The MMQB
3 of 11 experts pick the Vikings, ESPN
0 of 6 experts pick the Vikings, The Athletic
The Vikings Are Trying To Repeat Their Green Bay Blueprint In A New Way
https://zonecoverage.com/2026/minnesota-vikings-news/kirk-cousins-return-to-green-bay-is-a-game-of-all-new-narratives/
Locked On Vikings podcaster gets destroyed on social media for anti-Kirk Cousins take
https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/locked-vikings-podcaster-destroyed-social-media-anti-kirk-cousins-take
Vikings need Will Fries to step up to make the Kirk Cousins reunion work
https://thevikingage.com/minnesota-vikings-need-will-fries-step-up-make-kirk-cousins-reunion-work
Longtime NFL analyst claims Vikings ‘just don’t like’ first-round pick Caleb Banks
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/longtime-nfl-analyst-claims-vikings-just-dont-like-first-round-pick-caleb-banks
Kirk Cousins’ Vikings reunion could decide whether Kevin O’Connell gets trusted with another young quarterback
https://atozsports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings-news/minnesota-vikings-kirk-cousins-reunion-decide-whether-kevin-oconnell-gets-trusted-another-young-quarterback-jj-mccarthy/
Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell is on dangerous ground heading into the second half of the season
https://atozsports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings-news/vikings-hc-kevin-oconnell-is-on-dangerous-ground-heading-into-the-second-half-of-the-season/
Mendoza Doesn’t Hold Back on Kirk Cousins After Vikings Trade
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mendoza-doesn-t-hold-back-043712285.html
“I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart wanted to thank Kirk and the entire Cousins family, whether it was Julie, Cooper or Turner. They have, as a family, done so much for me,” Mendoza said Wednesday, November 11. “They’ve essentially taken me in to their household when they were here, and they welcomed me with open arms.”
“It would have been really easy for Kirk, being a veteran quarterback and already proved everything, to be a little bit more dismissive,” Mendoza continued. “But he had me with open arms and has taught me so many things, whether it was film study, how to operate as a starting quarterback, all the different multifaceted approaches that have made him so successful throughout his career. He has shared with no restrictions and no constraints. I really appreciate him and it was heartfelt to see him (go), as he was a great mentor.”
Kevin O’Connell addresses Vikings’ failed QB decisions, Murray and Wentz demotions
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/kevin-oconnell-addresses-vikings-failed-qb-decisions-murray-and-wentz-demotions
O’Connell said Murray and Wentz understood the decision to bring in Cousins, who will cram with O’Connell all week before starting Sunday in Green Bay.
“The reality is what it is: it’s one of those things where I think [Murray] appreciated hearing about it before the transaction took place, but at the same time, he knows I believe in him,” O’Connell explained. “I believe in Kyler, just like I believe in Carson and I believe in Max. I want him to get healthy and get back to work because you just never know. We do not hold the cards in how this will go from a health standpoint or anything like that with anybody on our team.”
If Cousins gets injured in Green Bay, it’ll likely be Wentz as the backup, despite dealing with an ankle injury that he suffered on Monday night against the Bills. Murray is currently “week-to-week” with a strained hamstring.
“Those guys understand where we’re at in the season. Carson was very much looking forward to the opportunity on Monday night, and it just did not go our way,” O’Connell said.
“It’s a lot to process between the game and then getting that news in a short amount of time, but they know that [general manager Nolan Teasley] and myself and everybody else involved in making a decision like that, we’re making it in the best interest of the Minnesota Vikings. We’re trying to do everything we can to be the best version of our team in 2026. We have a lot of confidence in what that can be, but we also know that it’s almost the middle of November, so the time is upon us where we need to be the type of team that we want to be to hopefully matter when December and January roll around.”
How does O’Connell feel about so many failed QB decisions?
“I would just say, you know, there can be a map looking backwards to say it’s all over the map, but I would just say we’ve always just tried to…we can only make the decisions in the moment and try to do what’s best. In many ways, you’re projecting. In many ways, you’re trying to evaluate where you are in that place and where you think you can get to, with an optimistic approach about hopefully getting the best out of players, and that’s growth, development,” he said.
“We’re just trying to make decisions in the moment and collaborate on that.”
Kurt Warner defends Carson Wentz, exposes bigger problem with Vikings’ offense
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/kurt-warner-defends-carson-wentz-exposes-bigger-problem-with-vikings-offense
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner has defended Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz after Wentz’s terrible game against the Bills on Monday night. The veteran completed just 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards, was picked off twice and was charged with a lost fumble.
Well, Warner watched the tape and found that 15 of 18 first-half pass attempts showed that Wentz rarely had an open receiver to throw to.
“There’s the first half of that game, when he was getting booed and everybody wanted him out of there: ‘We need to switch quarterbacks’ and ‘he can’t play.’ You guys tell me. I’ll be waiting for the comments that you guys tell me where everybody was wide open in this game, and I didn’t watch the tape and I don’t know what I’m talking about,” Warner, admittedly frustrated, said on his YouTube channel. “Here you go; here’s your evidence.”
Here’s a snapshot of his review, play-by-play:
- “Nobody’s open. He finds his checkdown. Throws it to the guy, the only guy that’s open. Nobody’s open down the field. Absolutely nobody.”
- “Again, tell me, where are you throwing it? Where are you throwing the football? Who’s open?”
- “Where are you throwing it? Who’s open?” he said. “There’s bodies all over in there. Who’s open? Nobody open.”
- “Again, tight coverage. Tight, tight, tight, tight coverage everywhere,” he said. “I’m still looking for the wide-open guys.”
- “Covered. Hasn’t separated. Two guys there. All we got is checkdowns. Throws a checkdown.”
- “Naked bootleg. Not only is there pressure in his face, these two guys (Jefferson and Max Bredeson), whatever they’re doing, they screw this up; they’re both doing the same thing. Where you throwing it? Where you throwing it? Throwing it to those two guys (covered)? You throwing it to one of those two guys (Jefferson and Bredeson)? Plus, you’ve got a guy in your face right here. Where are we throwing it? Where are the wide-open guys that everybody’s telling me there is.”
- “Where’s the wide-open guys? Where are we throwing it? We stacked this guy, so we can’t throw it there. Justin didn’t win. That guy’s got two guys on him, so we hit the checkdown.”
- “There’s a small little window right here. I do think he should’ve hit this one (to T.J. Hockenson). This one’s tough. You gotta see it at just the right time when you’re looking at it.”
- “That’s the guy who’s open on this play. That’s where he’s trying to rip it to Justin Jefferson and the ball gets tipped because, again, pressure in his face.”
- “Another naked bootleg. Where you throwing it? Covered. Covered. Covered. Bodies here…guy’s right on his heels; maybe that’s a throw if you get there at the perfect time to throw it. Other than that, nobody’s open.”
- “Where we throwing this one? Here? No. Here? No. Here? No. Here? No. Here? No. Okay, where’s the open guy? Where am I throwing this football?”
- “There’s nobody open,” he said. “This guy’s not even out of his route yet and we got pressure all over Carson, but maybe that’s the wide-open guy that you guys are seeing that finally comes open after the ball’s hitting the ground 25 yards down the field.”
- “Is this guy open? No. Is this guy open? No, but he actually makes this throw to him,” he said. “Down the field, nobody open. Everything becomes checkdowns. When we’re wanting him to make all these throws — and he makes this throw to Justin Jefferson — but who’s wide open?”
- “Okay, they’re going to have a quick out. Guy’s open; he hits him. There we go. How many times has he found the open guy in this first half, as opposed to missing the wide-open guy?
- “Not open. Not open. Not open. This guy (Jefferson) right here creates separation; where’s the ball going? Oh, to that guy, for the completion and the first down. The one guy that’s open by a little bit, he puts it on him.”
…
In Minnesota’s loss to the Lions on Nov. 1, Warner did a similar review of quarterback Kyler Murray. In that video, Warner found that Murray was failing to throw to wide-open receivers.
Packers’ offense vs. Vikings’ defense: What’s different from Week 1?
https://www.packers.com/news/packers-offense-vs-vikings-defense-what-s-different-from-week-1-nov-11-2026
“Against this defense, you know what it is, you can’t get frustrated,” quarterback Jordan Love said Wednesday. “There’s going to be some times where they get you, or the call we got just isn’t good enough versus what they’re bringing.
“That’s part of it. They’ll win some reps for sure, and you just gotta stay focused.”
Multiple things will be different in the rematch.
For one, the Packers now have far more experience at the guard positions to help protect Love. It’s unclear which two amongst Laken Tomlinson, Kevin Zeitler and Aaron Banks will play Sunday, but it won’t be Jacob Monk and Donovan Jennings, who were making their first career starts at those guard spots in Week 1 when the Vikings got way too many free runners at the QB.
On the flip side, the Packers may be rolling at center with the young John Williams in place of Sean Rhyan, but it’s possible Rhyan could return from his ankle injury this week.
For another, this game is at home, where the Packers’ offense will not have to operate on a silent count and will be able to communicate up front much better without having to deal with the deafening crowd noise of U.S. Bank Stadium.
“Playing them at home is a lot different than playing them there for that reason right there,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “That is, in my opinion, one of the toughest places to play in the NFL.”
Added Love: “Oh, man, it makes a huge difference. Silent count, it’s easier for D-line to get a little bit of a get-off. They kind of know what’s coming. But I think, too, just playing there, the environment, the noise, all those things, it throws communication off for an offense. We can’t hear each other.”
Love confessed that against coordinator Brian Flores’ defense, which leads the league with a 72.5% blitz rate on passing downs, a quarterback can’t always figure out who’s rushing from where, and there’s guesswork involved.
…
“We had some meltdowns at the end of the game that really cost us, where we didn’t have our guys on the same page,” Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. “On one, we got knocked off a block, and one of the sack/fumbles we miscommunicated protection.”
…
Minnesota’s blitz rate is more than 20 percentage points higher than the next-closest defense this year (Baltimore, 51.5%), and it’s the highest since NextGenStats has been tracking it over the past decade.
The Packers’ counter is Love, who leads the NFL in passing yards against the blitz this season (967) and is tied for first in passing TDs against the blitz (10).
“His anticipation to see space and just trust his receivers and get the ball into wherever area that’s supposed to be has been pretty awesome,” Stenavich said of Love vs. the blitz. “Whether that’s layering a ball, giving it some time or throwing it on a line, it’s been pretty impressive to watch.
“He’s calm, doesn’t get rattled, so he’s just a special player when it comes to that.”
More specifically against Minnesota, the Packers connected on seven pass plays of 20-plus yards back in Week 1. Since then, over their last seven games, the Vikings have given up just nine more pass completions of 20-plus.
So nobody has gashed the Vikings the way the Packers did for three quarters in the opener. Can they do it again?
They’re gonna try, but there’s no telling until Sunday.
“It’s never easy going against this defense,” Love said. “It’s always a challenge. Every week is a new test for them, and there’s so much different stuff you’ve got to prepare for. Who knows if they’ll do that in the game?
“They live in the world of chaos and try to make you confused. We definitely want to live in that world of trying to find those explosives.”
Yore Mock
I am going to assume the team either extends Cousins (2 yr 65M) or signs Mac Jones (2 yrs 40M). Jones turns 29 next Sept while Cousins turns 39 next August. Can Mac Jones have a Geno Smith like second half of his career? Either one is good for the mock’s purposes. I am also going to assume Brandel, AVG, Hockenson, Cashman, Rodgers, and maybe Mason (depending on price) all return on new deals.
Trades
Las Vegas Raiders
Sent: Pick 70
Received: Picks 77, 150
…
Kansas City Chiefs
Sent: Pick 77, 2028 MIN 7th Round
Received: Picks 80, 174
…
Tennessee Titans
Sent: Pick 150, 174
Received: Pick 130
…
Pick 28 – A’Mauri Washington, DT, Oregon | 6’3″, 325 lbs
Pick 59 – Clev Lubin, EDGE, Louisville | 6’3″, 260 lbs
Pick 80 – Nate Frazier, RB, Georgia | 5’10”, 205 lbs
Pick 130 – Luke Montgomery, OG, Ohio State | 6’5″, 313 lbs
Pick 155 – Keon Sabb, S, Alabama | 6’1″, 205 lbs
Pick 157 – Jordan Faison, WR, Notre Dame | 5’11”, 185 lbs
Pick 164 – Mark Fletcher Jr., RB, Miami (FL) | 6’2″, 225 lbs
Pick 180 – Conner Weigman, QB, Houston | 6’3″, 210 lbs
Pick 184 – Devon Jackson, LB, Oregon | 6’2″, 242 lbs
Pick 207 – Jay’Vion Cole, CB, Arizona | 5’10”, 190 lbs
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