Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins led two game-winning drives versus the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 and 2 that were nullified by a fumble and a missed field goal, respectively.
And then when his team did not blunder a game-winning drive, it was in Week 5 against the winless Detroit Lions, so the enthusiasm was dampened. Indeed, Minnesota allowed their contest last week with Detroit to remain close when it could have blown the doors off the NFC North foe. Onlookers even wanted to believe Cousins and his head coach were close to a fight when the two awkwardly celebrated the win over Detroit.
In between game-winning-drive situations this year, Cousins has performed admirably, too. Put bluntly, he’s just been a very reliable passer in 2021.
Normally when folks allot Cousins “too much” praise, the beholder is confronted with an oft-circulated garbage time narrative. The intent is to frame Cousins’ success with a caveat, suggesting his numbers are only comparable to other good NFL quarterbacks because he stockpiles stats in meaningless situations.
There’s a problem with that mythical assertion in 2021.
The Minnesota Vikings have been involved in zero games with garbage time “opportunities.” You can probably feel this in your bones as every Vikings game to date in 2021 is anxiety-filled.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”881944″ player=”26279″ title=”Jim%20Trotter%20details%20why%20the%20NFL%20won't%20release%20all%20the%20WFT%20investigation%20emails” duration=”118″ description=”NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter joins Carolyn Manno to discuss the WFT investigation.” uploaddate=”2021-10-14″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19437/thumb/https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/881859.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/881859/881859.m3u8″]
The bizarre garbage time metric is usually defined by a team trailing in the 4th Quarter by 14+ points. The Vikings have not taken one single offensive snap in 2021 while trailing by 14+ in the final period.
Cousins’ must be lost, middling in the league for proficiency, right? False.
Through five weeks, Cousins ranks fourth in the NFL for Pro Football Focus grade (89.4), 11th in DVOA (10.9%), 12th in Passer Rating (103.7), and 17th in QBR (54.2).
Blend those metrics, and Cousins places as about the 11th-best signal-caller in the business — which is where reasonable football brains situate his standing in the NFL’s quarterback pecking order. Few claim Cousins is elite; many claim Cousins is flat-out not good.
And Cousins has achieved this “about 11th-best” statistical recognition with no garbage time whatsoever. It’s a temporary direct hit to naysayers who insist on disqualifying his name from the good tiers of quarterbacking.
Here’s the deal on Cousins and garbage time: Indeed. he throws touchdowns passes and accumulates passing yards pre-2021 in such situations. Yet, he doesn’t do it at a ridiculous, exclusive clip. Cousins is good in garbage time. Cousins is good in clutch time. Cousins is good in the middle of those designated timeframes.
Consider this: Cousins has thrown 200 passing touchdowns in his career. Of those 200, 17 occurred in the 4th Quarter of games when trailing by 14+ points. That’s 8.5%. Cousins has thrown 8.5% of his touchdowns in garbage time. The garbage time truthers will have you believe that percentage is something like 40%. The narrative is flatly made-up.
If you need video evidence, well, just watch the Vikings games from 2021. The team has no meaningless 4th quarter transactions yet in 2021.
Finally, the Vikings play the Carolina Panthers in Week 6, a team quarterbacked by Sam Darnold. That quarterback is closer to the garbage time label than his Week 6 opponent. 13.7% of the young quarterback’s passing touchdowns have accrued when his team trailed by 14+ points in the 4th Quarter.
Have you ever heard Darnold assigned with the garbage time epithet? Probably not. He’s typically associated with “poor guy was on the Jets” mentions.
Funny how that works.
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).
Also Read: Our Staff Prediction for Vikings at Panthers