Kirk Cousins' frustration was on display during Sunday's TV broadcast

The duality of Kirk Cousins is such that he prepares meticulously in situations leading up to games — with his body, with his film study, you name it — so that he has as much control as possible over the three hours out of 168 spent between the lines every week during the season.

But in those three hours, that control is ceded to the whims and emotions of a game. A seemingly reserved Cousins can get caught up in the joy or frustration of the moment — as we've seen famously in the past whether he is shouting, "You like that!" at his doubters, giving Adam Thielen impromptu (and perhaps unwanted) route-running tips mid-game or getting in Mike Zimmer's face after a game-winning field goal.

Emotions tend to flood out of Cousins, particularly in times of stress, and sometimes the cameras are there to see it.

That brings us to the latest example: Sunday's 20-17 loss to Tampa Bay in the season opener, a dismal defeat that Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast.

On Sunday, CBS cameras caught Cousins demonstrably frustrated and/or upset on the sideline as he went over a late first-half interception with quarterbacks coach Chris O'Hara.

I missed it on first viewing, but kudos to Ben Goessling for referencing it in his game story and sending me back for a good look at it:

Calling attention to this is not a judgment about whether it's right or wrong for there to be sideline tension over a play.

Former QB Matt Ryan, serving as an analyst on the broadcast, put it into good context when he said, "There's a little frustration and rightfully so. But you want to get it out and get your mind right. It's 10-10 at half. You come out and play a clean second half. If they take care of the ball, they've been dominating this game."

But I do think two points are worth making:

First, the pattern with Cousins' emotional outbursts, at least the ones we've seen, is that they come when he is feeling tension: 2015, trying to establish himself as a starter and silence critics; 2018 in the finale, yelling at Thielen as a playoff berth slips away for a team that was supposed to compete for a Super Bowl; 2021, when Cousins bailed out Zimmer and helped the Vikings avoid a disastrous 1-5 start; and now Sunday, with Cousins coming off a 13-4 season but with his contract set to expire after this season.

Sometimes "Mad Kirk" plays very well. But his emotions and body language bear watching this season.

Second, the interception was the last of three turnovers credited to Cousins in the first half, including two previous fumbles. One fumble came when his own player (Ed Ingram) appeared to accidentally knock the ball out of his hands and the other came on a big hit off a blitz. The interception could have been caught by K.J. Osborn, but it was a risky throw in a tight window and a little behind Osborn.

So I'm not blaming Cousins solely for the turnovers. But they have been a problem for him in the past. His 14 interceptions last season were one behind the NFL lead. And he's been credited with 80 fumbles since taking over as a full-time starter in 2015.

CBS flashed a stat during the game that Cousins was the first QB since Vinny Testaverde in 2000 to throw for at least 270 yards in a first half while also having three turnovers. No disrespect to Testaverde, who led the NFL in interceptions four different seasons, but that's not really the type of company you want to keep.

And more to the point: The tension that seems to still exist between Cousins and the Kevin O'Connell offense even now in Year 2 is when to cut it loose and when to play it safe. My guess is that the offense pushes him into some uncomfortable risk-reward throws, and when the risk becomes a turnover Cousins bristles at the aftermath.

Maybe it's just all just a one-off that we're overanalyzing and Cousins will be wearing a chain on the way home from a win at Philadelphia on Thursday. But another loss to the defending NFC champs would only raise the level of urgency and scrutiny.

Here are four more things to know today:

*In this space on most Mondays, my plan is to try to give insights into what we saw on the Vikings' and other NFL broadcasts as well as social media. I don't expect they will all be as exciting or enlightening as this one, but what a gift to start.

*Meanwhile, Green Bay got three TD passes from new starter Jordan Love in a rout of the Bears. There were raves all during the broadcast, including this play during which Love dropped the snap but picked up the ball and fired a bomb off his back foot. And afterward, Love got a game ball in the victorious locker room.

*And the team the Vikings lost to in the playoffs last year? The Giants were routed 40-0 by Dallas. But at least they, um, made history.

*A reminder that "Thursday Night Football" is on Amazon Prime Video this year, with a catch: Games in local markets will be shown over-the-air.

The Vikings' game at Philadelphia this Thursday will be on Fox in addition streaming on Prime, and it will be interesting to see if there are any differences between the two.