Well, That’s Dead. Familiar Kirk Cousins Narrative Dies.
You’ve heard this one, undoubtedly.
“Kirk Cousins needs everything to be perfect for his team to win.”
That quip was false in years past – and it’s wildly inaccurate now. Through 12 weeks of 2021, the Minnesota Vikings have five wins because of Cousins’ late-game theatrics. Everything around him is imperfect, and still, the Vikings are in the hunt for the playoffs.
Nobody at VikingsTerritory will ever declare Cousins as an elite quarterback. He lives somewhere in the neighborhood of Carson Palmer and Tony Romo for ability and subsequent performance. Consistently, Cousins is about the 11th-best passer in the NFL. During some stretches, he’s fantastic and worthy of elite-tier consideration. In other circumstances – like the 2nd Half of the Week 12 game at San Francisco – Cousins is flat-out ineffective. This is his modus operandi. He’s damn good most of the time, coming up short in others.
This year, though, he is the driver of wins. In the games the Vikings have won – Seahawks, Panthers, Lions, Chargers, Packers – Cousins was the maestro for victory, particularly in the squeaker games versus Carolina, Detroit, and Green Bay. Then, in some of the contests Minnesota lost, Cousins did everything in his power to deliver victory. Most notably, Dalvin Cook fumbled in Week 1 at Cincinnati, and Greg Joseph missed a chip-shot field goal at Arizona.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”911173″ player=”26279″ title=”Brandon%20Beane%20details%20why%20the%20real%20football%20season%20starts%20after%20Thanksgiving” duration=”62″ description=”General manager of the Buffalo Bills, Brandon Beane, details why the “real football season” starts after Thanksgiving, and how it will come down to NFL week 17.” uploaddate=”2021-11-30″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/thumb/911105_s_1638305289816.jpg” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/911105/911105.m3u8″]
When Cousins is not on his game – See: versus 49ers – the team is hapless. He does not have a Baltimore Ravens-like roster in which his team can overcome four interceptions like the Ravens did against the Cleveland Browns last weekend.
In the games Cousins is “off,” the Vikings are doomed. Totally doomed. The franchise needs him to be perfect, not the other way around. A case study is the 2017 Vikings. That team situated Case Keenum gloriously, thanks to a hellish defense. Minnesota does not do that anymore. It’s Cousins who must drag the Vikings to victory.
Full disclosure: Cousins is better in the 1st Half of games than the 2nd Half. Here’s his 1st-Half EPA:
Best in the world before halftime through 12 weeks.
And the 2nd Half of games:
Ninth-best in the world after halftime through 12 weeks.
The man is not flawless. He’s better early in games. The problem? The Vikings don’t close out games on defense anymore. Point blank – they do not do it. They used to. Not anymore.
The Week 13 game in Detroit will probably stretch this theory thin. Even an average Cousins can probably topple the Lions. Yet, against good teams, Cousins is required to be spectacular because the defense habitually collapses. Plus, the Vikings are missing a DE1, RB1, TE1, CB1, and several others throughout the 2021 season.
In fairness, Cousins is paid a large sum, mandating he perform tremendously most of the time. His contract is the scarlet letter associated with his reputation.
On the whole, though, just know the 2021 brand of Minnesota Vikings is totally dependent on Kirk Daniel Cousins. He does not require a perfect roster or situation. Instead, through 11 games, Cousins must be perfect (or damn close) for Minnesota to win ballgames because the rest of the team is lacking.
Think about it. How can a man with 24 total touchdowns to just four turnovers (fairly close to perfect) exist on a 5-6 team if “he needs his team to perfect?”
An average staline from someone other than Cousins of 18 touchdowns to 10 turnovers would sink the 2021 Vikings to 2-9 or so.
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).
You must be logged in to post a comment.