Kirk Cousins: The good and bad of his day vs. the Bills

We will track quarterback Kirk Cousins all year long in his inaugural season as the Vikings' signal caller.

Attempts55

Completions40

Yards 296

Touchdowns1

Interceptions1

Passer rating83.6

Turnovers3

Grade: 2 out of 10

A turnover-laden performance put the Vikings in a 17-0 hole by the end of the first quarter and a 27-0 deficit by halftime. Cousins finished 40 of 55 for 296 yards and a touchdown, but his two fumbles set up the Bills' first two scores, and his third-quarter interception ended the Vikings' first trip into Bills territory.

"I've heard it quite a bit. It's pretty much the most common thing I hear on the field and when I play in the league. I hear that in offseason meetings. I hear that. It's just what you hear in the crowd and stuff like that." –Cousins, on Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White mocking the quarterback's famous "You Like That?" mantra after the game.

— Kirk Cousins

Late productivity: It was hard to find much to like about Cousins' performance on Sunday, but with the Vikings forced to throw throughout the second half, he completed 31 of his 41 second-half passes for 252 yards and a late touchdown throw to Kyle Rudolph to help the Vikings avoid a shutout.

Fumbling issues: Cousins had fumbled 31 times in his last three seasons with the Redskins, and lost two of them on Sunday, setting up the Bills' first two scores. The Bills knew going into the week they could pry the ball loose from Cousins, who hadn't fumbled yet in a Vikings uniform, and the two he lost on Sunday put the Vikings in a hole from which they couldn't recover.

The Vikings tied an NFL record since the 1970 merger with just six rushing attempts, and only four of those were handoffs: two to Mike Boone and two to Latavius Murray. The Vikings' early deficit made it so they wouldn't be able to establish much of a running game, but when they did try to run, three of their four attempts went for two yards or less, meaning they had no chance to provide much of a counterpunch for the Bills' aggressive pass rush.

A quick look at former Vikings starters Sam Bradford and Case Keenum.

Bradford

Arizona Cardinals

Comp-att13-19

Yards157

TD-INT2-2

QBR 89.0

Result: Bears 16, Cardinals 14

Keenum

Denver Broncos

Comp-att22-34

Yards 192

TD-INT0-1

QBR 67.3

Result: Ravens 27, Broncos 14

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