Kirk Cousins needs his legs, in addition to arm, to head off a second-half flop

What a weird day Sunday was for Kirk Cousins.

A 29-22 victory over the Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium began with Cousins using his golden arm to easily complete a team-record 17 consecutive passes in what should have been a 60-minute laugher for the Vikings. Then it somehow ended with Cousins needing every striving ounce of his tinfoil legs to convert a critical third-and-5 to prevent a surprise nail-biter from becoming one of the worst second-half flops in franchise history.

"I'm very proud of the way Kirk battled to the end," coach Kevin O'Connell said after the Vikings took over first place in the NFC North at 4-1. "Once again, he was leading us to get the lead back in the fourth quarter."

From his 17th completion until the game-winning drive started, Cousins was 9-of-16 for 63 yards and an interception. Meanwhile, the Bears went from 21-3 down to 22-21 up.

But during the game-winning drive, Cousin completed six of eight passes for 57 yards to five targets. He hit Irv Smith Jr. for 13 yards on third-and-4 and Alexander Mattison for 11 yards on third-and-8.

That's not all he did. Facing third-and-5 from the Chicago 20 with 3:37 left, he didn't do something his critics slam him for. He didn't get happy feet under pressure and with no one to throw to. He ran for the first down, going in face first for the 5-yard gain.

"Huge play," O'Connell said of Cousins' decision.

What say you, Kirk?

"It was two-man, so that already gives the quarterback a chance to run because there's nobody on you," Cousins said. "I felt Adam [Thielen] get bear-hugged. He's my No. 1 guy on the route. I said, 'He's not getting open.' And Irv kind of got mugged as well getting off the line.

"And then the rush. I felt somebody cross my face and rather than progress to the backside to Justin [Jefferson] and K.J. [Osborn], I figured I'm just going to take off and try to get it."

Six plays later, a 1-yard sneak by Cousins on third-and-goal and the ensuing two-point conversion toss to Jefferson gave the Vikings the 29-22 lead.

Cousins lined up in shotgun on the third-and-goal play before his pre-snap run-pass read moved him under center for the sneak.

"We had a couple of options there," Cousins said.

It was the 12th third-down conversion in the 15th and final attempt on the day for the Vikings. Eleven of them were third-and-5 or shorter.

"Our quarterback deserves a ton of credit for 12-of-15 on third down," O'Connell said.

Indeed.

Cousins was 9-of-10 for 91 yards and eight first downs to six targets on third down. Throw in the two he added with his legs, and Cousins helped convert 10 of the successful 12 third downs.

Cousins is smart enough to deflect much of the credit to his skill players, his offensive line and, frankly, a Bears defense that was laughably soft, especially early on when Cousins was moving past Tommy Kramer with his 17th consecutive completion on this day and 19th overall going back to last week.

Asked if he felt red-hot when he was completing 17 straight, Cousins shrugged and said, "I really didn't.

"I think it goes back to the coaching, the plan. … I don't think I was ripping it into brutally tight windows and kind of being this hero. It's because everything around you is giving you this opportunity to be successful. If you go back and watch those 17 throws, I'd think you'd see they were very automatic."

The win should have been automatic at 21-3. It wasn't. But Cousins was there with his arm and his legs when the Vikings needed them most.

Kirk Cousins completed his first 17 passes Sunday, breaking the Vikings' single-game record for most completions.

17 Kirk Cousins, vs. Chicago, Oct. 9, 2022

16 Tommy Kramer, at Green Bay, Nov. 11, 1979

15 Case Keenum, at Atlanta, Dec. 3, 2017

14 Wade Wilson, vs. Detroit, Nov. 6, 1988