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Trailing by a point with 2 minutes, 29 seconds left at the Bears 1-yard line, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell put the game in the hands of quarterback Kirk Cousins. It was the latest display of trust from the 37-year-old play caller in his 34-year-old quarterback, who decided to plunge forward for the ninth touchdown on a quarterback sneak in his NFL career.
Cousins acknowledged after the 29-22 victory over Chicago that he had options at the goal line, led by Adam Thielen, who sweated out the play from near the sideline after running a fly sweep motion across the line and looking for the ball.
"I was a little worried right away and then the push up front," Thielen said. "Obviously, those guys are doing their job at a high level and Kirk sneaking in there only needing a few inches. It was good."
Cousins has that freedom in portions of games and the playbook, including a versatile red-zone offense that rebounded Sunday to produce four touchdowns in four trips after going 2 for 5 against the Saints the previous week. Cousins said O'Connell's trust is a "great help" in empowering the quarterback, and the in-play flexibility kept Bears defenders on their toes.
"He's really been that way from day one," Cousins said of O'Connell. "We're developing. I think we're getting there. I would tell you that after being in a system for three-ish years, three different play callers but a similar system, I'm not where I was at the end of last season in that old system."
On third-and-goal in the closing minutes, Cousins and running back Dalvin Cook (#4) opened the play in shotgun with a receiver trio bunched to the right side. They're showing pass, and Bears defenders act accordingly. Then Cousins gets under center and Cook aligns to the left, forcing defenders to adjust and identify moving targets as Thielen (#19) starts running a fly sweep motion to the left. As the second level of defenders shift horizontally with Thielen, Cousins keeps the ball and dives left, where there is no second-level resistance.
"At first I thought Adam was going to get the handoff," receiver Justin Jefferson said. "I think he would've walked in just like I did last week. But it's great to get Kirk in the end zone, finishing a big drive he had for us. That just shows you how much fight we have in this whole team."
