Shirtless Kirk Cousins, aka 'Kirko Chains,' leads a Vikings team that's playing in sync

When Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw's diamond chain was first placed around the neck of Kirk Cousins during the team flight home from London, the 34-year-old quarterback didn't anticipate his evolution into "Big Kirko" or "Kirko Chains."

As far as Cousins was concerned, the post-victory celebration fell under an internal code. But these 7-1 Vikings, riding a six-game winning streak into Buffalo on Sunday, are having too much fun to keep it in-house.

"The rule was no social media on planes," Cousins said Wednesday at TCO Performance Center. "I guess it was in our best interest that it got out."

Through the viral videos of Cousins sporting many diamond and gold chains and, after last week's win in Washington against his former team, dancing shirtless, the world has seen the most prominent examples of a locker room that has come together under first-year head coach Kevin O'Connell and been galvanized by winning six straight one-score games.

"He been like that," running back Dalvin Cook said of Cousins. "Y'all just getting an opportunity to see what we've been doing. The true person off the field of Kirk slash 'Kirko.'"

Cousins hasn't always been shirtless wearing thousands of dollars in jewelry after wins, but that speaks to how loose the Vikings are feeling.

"Once it got out and the train gets on the tracks," Cousins said, "it's hard to stop it at that point, as you can see by me not wearing a shirt last week."

Players from edge rusher Za'Darius Smith to receiver Adam Thielen credit their winning ways, in part, to the positive environment established under O'Connell, a 37-year-old former NFL backup quarterback. Smith, the 30-year-old former Packers star, particularly appreciates how his voice is heard by O'Connell and defensive coaches.

O'Connell still holds the reins. He knows he has wise veterans, so sometimes he can turn a blind eye to the quarterback taking his shirt off on the plane.

"They love being around each other, they love celebrating the success that we've had," O'Connell said. "We've got great leadership, and I can always trust that it's gonna be under control enough up there that we'll be able to safely land the plane. We do get home."

Team flights after close wins in London, Miami and Washington have been some of the biggest bonding experiences for this young Vikings team, the 12th youngest in the NFL based on the initial 53-man roster.

"Put the music on and everybody's kind of standing up, hanging out, just talking. Getting to know each other a little better," Thielen said. "And you know 'Kirko Chains' up there with all the chains on and shirt off, it just kind of shows that we can just be ourselves on this team and it doesn't mean we're going to be perfect and go play our best football every Sunday. It just allows us to be ourselves and go out there and try to put our best foot forward."

Players from 26-year-old cornerback Kris Boyd, a special teams ace, to Cousins have become well-known personalities across every level of the depth chart.

Boyd, described as the "hype man" by teammate Akayleb Evans, was the first one to put Darrisaw's chain on Cousins. The special teams and defense have had their own viral moments, too, with their choreographed end-zone celebrations of takeaways.

The Vikings are 6-0 in one-score games so far this season, after going 11-11 in the past two years under former head coach Mike Zimmer, finding ways to close out games with defensive takeaways or, in last week's case, three fourth-quarter scoring drives in a 20-17 win at Washington.

Players say there's an intangible reason why a team with new playbooks and some prominent free agents, including Smith, nose tackle Harrison Phillips and linebacker Jordan Hicks, has come together so quickly.

"It's the chemistry," Smith said. "When we get a chance to be with each other off the field, it can be the little things, playing a game with each other. If we continue to do that and learn each others' weaknesses and what we're good at, and have the coach see it, and [he] gives us opportunities."

But what's the plan for the next viral video of "Big Kirko" Cousins should they beat the Bills?

"That ball's in the court of everybody else on the team," Cousins said. "But let's hope we're having that problem. Let's hope we're having that problem."