For the First Time in 8 Years, Kirk Cousins Is Hurt.
Something fishy popped up on the Minnesota Vikings injury report this week.
Normally, that would seem like a mundane injury report as some men leaguewide are banged up in Week 15. Big deal. On the whole, that is true.
But Kirk Cousins is listed on the report with a rib injury, suffered on Monday Night Football in a win over the Chicago Bears. This is the first time since the 2013 season that Cousins appeared on an injury report. That’s quite the streak of good health.
In fact, during the last seven seasons (starting in 2015 when Cousins became a full-time starter), Kirk Cousins and Tom Brady are the only quarterbacks in the NFL to avoid missing games because of injury (while starting every game otherwise). Cousins was rested for a game late in the 2019 season, but he was not hampered. Brady was suspended for a four-game stretch after the deflated-balls incident. Aside from that, Cousins and Brady have started every game in the last seven seasons, the only two men to do so.
Now is not the time to panic about Cousins’ ribs. This is only a preliminary report, gathered after the team had a walkthrough on Wednesday.
The Vikings host the Los Angeles Rams (10-4) this weekend, are three-point home underdogs, and probably need every ounce of Cousins to win. The Vikings signal-caller is a tough dude, so most fans and pundits expect Cousins to play.
If he does not, the Vikings would be led for the first time in a meaningful football game by a quarterback not named Cousins since the 2017 playoffs. Before Cousins, it was Case Keenum, and Minnesota lost in the NFC Championship, disallowing a home Super Bowl showdown with the New England Patriots.
Cousins took some shots on Monday night. It isn’t terribly surprising that he has a lingering injury from the Bears game. This is likely the play where the injury occurred, although Cousins took a few other hits, too.
The tackler, Akiem Hicks, weighs 335 pounds.
In a game stuffed full of missed or bogus penalties — applying to both teams — this was another call missed by the officiating crew. Based on the “new” rules, a defender falling onto a quarterback, as does Hicks, is supposedly illegal. But no luck for a flag on this one.
With or without Cousins — Sean Mannion would be the next man up at quarterback — the Rams game poses a tremendous challenge. Los Angeles struggled in the immediate aftermath of the Odell Beckham and Von Miller transactions but have turned the tide, outlasting the Seattle Seahawks most recently on Tuesday Night Football. Head coach Sean McVay has talent peppered all over the depth chart, so Minnesota faces a tall order no matter what. Also remember, though, Los Angeles had several COVID reserved players at this time last week. It is unclear if all of them will be ready for Week 16.
When a quarterback has tender ribs, arguably the worst human being to throw on the itinerary is Aaron Donald, the otherworldly defensive tackle for the Rams.
Yet, this is the way it goes. If Cousins plays on Sunday, he’ll face the best defensive player on earth — in what many fans consider another must-win game for the Vikings.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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