Kirk Cousins is once again the quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. Welcome to the most exciting, if anxiety-riddled, stretch of Vikings football in memory. The next few months will be unlike any other.
General manager Nolan Teasley did what he had to do. A 3rd-round pick was a small price to pay to avoid the iceberg. After an embarrassing, mind-boggling, inept offensive showing in front of the entire nation on Monday Night Football that threatened a full-on locker room mutiny and the season’s implosion,
the ship has now been steered into calmer waters. Whether it will be there when the calendar turns to January is still very much up in the air.
The only situations even remotely comparable were Sam Bradford’s arrival days before the 2016 season and Randy Moss’ return in 2010. While the former started well, defeating the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, it ultimately petered out. The latter didn’t even get that far. Let’s hope for better luck this time around.
NARRATIVES, NARRATIVES EVERYWHERE!
Super Bowl Dreams Are Back On. Through nine games as the Raiders’ starter, with offensive weapons no one would confuse with the 1999 Rams, Kirk Cousins was on pace for more TD passes (38) than he had with the Vikings (2021 and 2022) after the NFL moved to a 17-game regular season. He would just fall short of the passing yardage he had in 2022 (4,547).
In an earlier article, I noted that a torn Achilles in a quarterback’s plant leg is the worst non-throwing-arm injury you can sustain. Recovery is challenging and often takes more than one season before you start to look like yourself again. I think that may explain much of what’s going on with Daniel Jones in Indy right now.
Given his performance this year, there is a persuasive argument that the nature of the injury, not necessarily age, may explain the inconsistency Cousins experienced during his stint with the Atlanta Falcons. Would he have played better if he were 25? Probably. But his play for the Raiders has been a pleasant surprise that no one envisioned before the season: 2nd in passing TDs, 5th in yards, 9th in EPA per dropback, etc.
All Cousins needs to do is be good. That’s it. The Raiders are 8th in points per game (26.4). We won’t even need that 95% of the time. We’d be 8-0 right now. The reason the Silver and Black are 4-5 is that their defense is last in points allowed (29.8) and yards allowed (385.4). They’re basically the 2020-21 Vikings. Under Brian Flores, we’re 1st and 2nd in those categories, respectively.
The NFC is wide open right now. No one is convincing me that there is a team we can’t beat, with Cousins back throwing to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson again, and Flores’ defense as the ultimate insurance policy.
Cousins, Storybook Ending? Hollywood’s most gifted screenwriters couldn’t come up with a better scenario. Cousins returns to the Vikings to save the season, and his first game is at Lambeau Field – the very place his Vikings tenure ended the first time around. All under the larger theme of redemption, given how those highly debated years ended after the 2023 season.
Cousins realizes the feel-good, storybook ending is within reach. Reports say the Raiders left the trade decision in his hands. He knows. This is his last, best chance. A Kirk Cousins with a Super Bowl ring would not only have a legitimate Hall of Fame resume (the numbers will be there), but he’d also have a statue outside U.S. Stadium to immortalize his role in ending the long-suffering anguish of a tortured fan base.
Patience is a virtue. I’d urge people not to expect Cousins to come in seamlessly and pick up where he left off in 2023. It may take a game or two to get back into a rhythm with the offense and receivers, regardless of previous experience. That certainly doesn’t mean we won’t win on Sunday. We’ve already beaten the Packers and have won games this season with an offense that made us long for the days of the Wishbone or Single-Wing. This is about ensuring the offense is hitting its stride heading into December and (hopefully) a memorable playoff run.
KOC Gets a Mulligan (For Now). Cousins’ return effectively gives KOC a new lease on life after repeatedly stepping on rakes with disastrous quarterback decisions that necessitated the trade. He may have gotten away with the Sergeant Schultz routine by drafting J.J. McCarthy and letting Sam Darnold walk, but the 2026 quarterback room mess is on him. You can only play that hand so many times. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took the blame for the earlier missteps and lost his job. Nolan Teasley can justifiably plead ignorance for being late to the game, and no one believes he traded McCarthy without KOC’s approval (or encouragement).
Regardless of how this season ends, the Vikings will again begin the offseason back at the drawing board at the most important position on the field. The best-case scenario is that Cousins thrives and reworks his deal to replay the role he played with the Raiders this season if the Vikings try yet again to hit on the QBOTF in the draft. Or maybe they can swing a risky trade for Justin Herbert and effectively blow up their cap as several key in-house free agents loom. Does a Daniel Jones trade happen? Do people think Geno Smith or Mac Jones could be the answer?
The bill for the Murray-McCarthy mess will eventually come due. Let’s hope KOC still has the currency to pay it without breaking a sweat. I’ve said before that the best-case scenario and the Vikings often go together like hot fudge and sushi. But we’re due for a break after botching the quarterback situation as badly as possible, only to go back to where we started. Right? Right?
Kirk Cousins isn’t coming back in another three years to save us again. Well, we are the Vikings, so you never know. That wouldn’t even crack the Top 20 for the weirdest things to happen to this franchise.
OH YEAH, THE PACKERS…
With Vikings fans and the Minnesota district manager at Kohl’s basking in the excitement of the Cousins trade and renewed hopes for a Super Bowl run, there is a game to play against the stupid Green Bay Packers.
As much as it pains me to say it, the Packers come into this one on a roll. They thoroughly destroyed the New England Patriots on the road last week and have won five of their last six.
Vikings on Offense
All eyes will be on Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense. The good news is that as long as Cousins doesn’t miss the team bus, it’ll immediately be an improvement over what we’ve seen recently.
Like last season without Micah Parsons, the Packers’ defense is good, if not quite elite. He’s close to returning but won’t play in this one. They’re 11th in both points and total yards allowed, but better (Top 5) in yards per play and defensive DVOA. Pass defense is their strength, as they’re in the Top 10 in both pass EPA allowed and passer rating allowed. The Packers have also feasted on interceptions and are 2nd in the NFL. Their run defense looks to be middle of the pack across most traditional and advanced metrics. Hopefully this can be exploited early to get Cousins comfortable and open up the play-action pass game he excelled at under KOC the first time around.
I’m genuinely curious how much of the playbook will be open to Cousins with such a short prep, regardless of familiarity. KOC may have commented on this, but if he did, I missed it. As I noted above, however, it may be too much to expect him to just drop in and play as if he never left. Give it some time. What matters is how this offense looks heading into December.
Vikings on Defense
Quarterback Jordan Love has the offense leading the NFL in passing yards per game. This has translated into strong showings for the dangerous receiving trio of Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, and Tucker Kraft. Those three had a field day against us in Week 1, but that was mostly in the first half, before we woke up and realized the season had started. This version will not be rusty and will surely have resolved the communication and coverage issues that plagued the unit two months ago.
The problem for the Cheeseheads is that their running game is abysmal, ranking 32nd, and they don’t have an injured Josh Jacobs to lean on. I’d think this works in the Vikings’ favor, as it will force the Packers’ offense to play the game on our terms. If the pass vs. run dynamic were flipped, or even more balanced, that would concern me a bit more. That said, Love and the Packers’ aerial attack are incredibly dangerous, stellar Vikings pass defense or not. We’d better be ready.
Prediction
There are a lot of things that worry me about this game for the Vikings: Cousins’ comfort level, not helped by an offensive line playing particularly well, likely missing Blake Cashman, who is having an All-Pro season, and the Packers’ passing offense clicking on all cylinders.
Counterpoints:
1. Comfortable or not, Cousins can hit an open receiver.
2. Brian Flores.
I’m not letting this high wear off. No way, no how. The running game shows some life now that opposing defenses have to worry about the passing game. This, in turn, opens up some much-needed (and desperately missed) Cousins-to-Jefferson/Addison/Hockenson (if he plays) highlights. Just enough to get the job done on Sunday, with improvements to come.
Let’s party like it’s 2022 (on offense).
Minnesota Vikings: 23
Green Bay Packers: 21
