Kirk Cousins Is a Hall of Famer
Janik Eckardt
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The debates about Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins are ongoing. In the eyes of many, Cousins is just an average quarterback who is not good enough to win games, especially the big ones.
Others think he’s an excellent quarterback who is criminally underrated. Winning in the playoffs would be a big deal for his perception. Winning a second one, most likely against a seemingly unbeatable San Francisco team, would be even bigger.
The Vikings had some incredible wins in the 2022 season. Vikings fans had to endure some unbelievably exhausting games. One of them was the Buffalo Bills game in Week 10 when the Vikings were down 27-10 late in the third quarter but pulled off an epic comeback win against the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
Cousins played a crucial role with some outstanding throws in tight windows. Justin Jefferson’s gloves and arm sleeve were enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after the game because he made the insane catch on 4th and 18.
Now, Kirk Cousins just received similar treatment for another stunning comeback win. The Vikings trailed 33-0 at halftime in Week 15 when the Indianapolis Colts visited U.S. Bank Stadium.
Kirk Cousins Is a Hall of Famer
At halftime, cornerback Patrick Peterson famously said, “We only need five touchdowns.” No team has ever come back from a deficit like that. However, the Vikings came out of the locker room and tried to do the impossible.
Cousins recorded an outstanding 417 passing yards and four passing touchdowns after halftime. For some reason, his performance led to some criticism. Sam Monson, a PFF analyst, described his game with the words, “Cousins didn’t do that much in this game. He didn’t start driving this comeback.”
That is a strange remark after the greatest comeback in NFL history. Trying to find knocks to use against the veteran quarterback is nothing new. This time, analysts used the yards after the catch of the Vikings receivers in the game.
Patrick Mahomes is leading the league in yards after catch by a wide margin, and nobody has a problem with that — for good reason. Quarterbacks must execute the offense at a high level and make accurate passes at the right time to allow their teammates to gain yards after the catch.
Cousins completed 34 of 54 passes for 460 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in the game despite the atrocious first half. The two interceptions were driven by Jalen Reagor, who stopped during his route early in the second half and took a couple of steps in the wrong direction during the pass on a pick-six in the first half.
Cousins was speechless when he learned about the game’s historic impact.
The quarterback’s jersey is now in the Hall of Fame. Despite putting up Hall of Fame-type numbers, Cousins isn’t regarded as a Hall of Fame candidate. The veteran likely has to go on a Super Bowl run at some point in his career to have a chance to be inducted in Canton, Ohio.
The passer ranks 28th all-time in passing yards with 37,140 yards. He passed legends like Jim Kelly, Steve Young, and Troy Aikman in 2022. His 252 passing touchdowns rank him 23rd in NFL history. He needs only nine more to enter the Top 20. Cousins’ fans are hoping for a deep playoff run and some consequent respect in the eyes of national media and people following the sport.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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