The Kirk Cousins Curse Survives Another Year
Janik Eckardt
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When the Minnesota Vikings signed their current quarterback to a massive deal in the 2018 offseason, they probably had no idea they brought a new curse to Minnesota. The organization knows about all kinds of voodoo. Their kickers are an exceptional case for students of dark magic.
Whenever a placekicker wears the Vikings’ jersey, his skills seem to disappear, no matter how good he is. It’s proven to have nothing to do with the color purple, as the Ravens employ kicker Justin Tucker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history and likely a future Hall of Famer.
Former Viking Daniel Carlson is a good example. He was so good in college that former general manager Rick Spielman decided to draft him in the fifth round in a heroic attempt to end the curse. However, Carlson missed field goal after field goal, and the Vikings released him after only two games for the club.
He later signed with the Raiders and is back looking like a superstar on his own Hall of Fame path. The playoff misses of Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh are well-documented, and memories don’t have to be renewed.
The Kirk Cousins Curse Survives Another Year
The Kirk Cousins curse is different than the kicker curse because it doesn’t hit the Vikings but their opponents. No team has ever won the Super Bowl in the same season they lost a game against Cousins when he was the starting quarterback. In 2012 as a rookie in Washington, Cousins threw two passes in a win over the Baltimore Ravens, the eventual Super Bowl champions. However, Robert Griffin started that contest.
As a starter, Cousins faced future Super Bowl champions six times and lost all six contests. It started in 2017 when the passer played against the Eagles twice and lost both games. With the Vikings, Cousins lost to the Patriots in 2018, the Chiefs in 2019, the Buccaneers in 2020, and the Rams in 2021.
The only team left that played against Cousins in 2022 was the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, who, of course, won the matchup. Jalen Hurts and his Eagles are the only team that can keep that streak active.
Cousins played some solid games in those six matchups against eventual Super Bowl-winning teams. He passed for 1,504 yards and threw for ten scores and five interceptions. In a 17-game season, that equals 28 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and 4,261 yards. That is a standard stat line for the veteran.
The Cousins curse stays alive for at least another season, as the Cincinnati Bengals eliminated the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo lost at home to the Cousins-led team in Week 10 despite having a 27-10 lead with just over 18 minutes to go. Interestingly, the Bills lost by that exact same score on Sunday against the Bengals, also at home. Everyone can decide for themselves if that is an accidental or dark magic result.
Just to make sure, the Vikings’ opponents should make sure to lose to the Vikings when Cousins is the starting quarterback in 2023.
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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