Kirk Cousins
Last week the offensive line got the game ball and they certainly earned it for a second week in a row. The Vikings gained 166 yards on the ground and 337 through the air.
But for the third straight week, Kirk Cousins put in a performance worthy of his paycheck. He didn’t miss any deep balls. He didn’t make any pull-your-hair-out decisions.
All he did was complete 24 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns. He compiled most of those stats despite losing Adam Thielen after capping the Vikings second offensive possesion with a touchdown catch that sent Thielen to the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
The most impressive thing about this performance was that Cousins stepped up when his team needed him most. The game was close right up until the 66 yard kill-shot to Stefon Diggs with three minutes left to play.
This was the type of big-time game for which Cousins has earned well-deserved criticism. On the road and with the Vikings having lost to two division opponents already, this was pretty much a must-win game.
The pass protection gave him all kinds of time throughout the game. The play-calling was as balanced as you could possibly get, both between the number of rush (37) versus pass plays called (34) and among the number of different receivers targeted (7).
It was fun to see the offense working to perfection, especially since the defense was busy giving up 30 points.
And Cousins delivered. Big time.