What Do Vikings Do after Losing QB1? Go on Win Streaks.
Dustin Baker
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Most Minnesota Vikings fans spent Sunday night melancholy after the team dropped the Green Bay Packers on Wisconsin grass, the first triumph for the purple team over the cheese one in the post-Aaron Rodgers era.
What Do Vikings Do after Losing QB1? Go on Win Streaks.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins left the game in the 4th Quarter with an injury, confirmed on Monday as an Achilles tear. Cousins won’t return in 2023 and is scheduled, for now, to hit free agency in four months.
So, the Vikings will roll over and die without their quarterback, who was performing at an unusually high level, right?
Nope. That’s not what the franchise usually does, at least.
In 2005, Minnesota lost Daunte Culpepper to an ACL and MCL tear, and the man never took another snap with white horns on his helmet. That was it for Culpepper, who also never returned to form anywhere despite attempts with the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.
The Vikings were dead in the water — mere days after The Loveboat Scandal came to light — with a 2-5 record and an injured QB1.
Game, set, match. The Vikings were cooked. Well, that’s what folks thought. Brad Johnson and his friends responded by winning six consecutive games — yes, like the moment Culpepper hit the shelf. Here’s what happened after Culpepper blew out his knee and Johnson took over:
- Week 9 vs. DET — Win (27-14)
- Week 10 at NYG — Win (24-21)
- Week 11 at GB — Win (20-17)
- Week 12 vs. CLE — Win (24-12)
- Week 13 at DET — Win (21-16)
- Week 14 vs. STL — Win (27-13)
Not bad.
The Vikings later lost two pivotal games versus AFC opponents and didn’t qualify for the postseason.
Most would call this an outlier; teams aren’t supposed to improve after a Pro Bowl quarterback hits injured reserve. But then it happened again, 12 years later.
Sam Bradford led the charge in Minnesota to start the 2017 season, and the club lost Dalvin Cook, a rookie running back at the time, in Week 4. The following week, Bradford was injured for good, too, and like Culpepper in 2005, never played for the Vikings again.
But here’s what happened when Case Keenum took over for Bradford, starting with the Bears contest in Week 5:
- Week 5 at CHI — Win (20-17)
- Week 6 vs. GB — Win (23-10)
- Week 7 vs. BAL — Win (24-16)
- Week 8 at CLE — Win (33-16)
- Week 9 BYE
- Week 10 at WAS — Win (38-30)
- Week 11 vs LAR — Win (24-7)
- Week 12 at DET — Win (30-23)
- Week 13 at ATL — Win (14-9)
Minnesota later finished 13-3, created The Minneapolis Miracle over the New Orleans Saints, and lost in the NFC Championship to the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s tempting to believe this iteration of Vikings will meander through the rest of the season losing games because Cousins is out, but the franchise hasn’t really done that in the past facing adversity.
The Vikings somehow get better historically when the QB1 is lost to a season-ending injury.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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