Kirk Cousins' ability or lack thereof would be so much easier to fight about if he played tennis or golf or another sport that didn't have up to 47 of his teammates also contributing to wins, late-game collapses and heart-wrenching losses.
What's Kirk Cousins' fault? Certainly not the Vikings' 2-5 road record
The quarterback has performed well away from home, but his team frequently hasn't turned that production into victories.
December 18, 2021 at 10:45PM
Say something good about the Vikings quarterback when he plays well and brace yourself for an argument. Say something bad about him when he plays poorly and, well, here comes the other side just as doggone angry.
Cousins is the color gray that neither camp can get the other to see. He's a better-than-good quarterback, but if he beats the Bears on "Monday Night Football," he will exit Soldier Field as a 10-year veteran with a no-better-than-average 58-58-2 record.
Cousins is a gridiron dichotomy. In a world that's increasingly disinterested in context or nuance, nothing good that is said about him can crawl from the darkness of a record that never strays far from .500.
But let's give it a try and see how mad we can make people.
The Vikings are 2-5 on the road this season heading to Chicago.
See, Cousins is terrible! Can't lead! Trade him!
Reality: Cousins has 16 touchdowns and one interception while completing 68.8% of his passes for 289.6 yards per game and a 109.8 passer rating in those seven road games.
Those are just numbers, you moron! Garbage time! He isn't clutch! Cut him!
Reality: Of those 16 touchdown passes, 11 have given the Vikings a lead and one tied the score with 1 minute, 3 seconds left. Cousins has given the Vikings a lead in every game while throwing at least two touchdown passes in each game.
"I haven't studied it," Cousins said of the offense's road production. "It sounds like it's been good."
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Now, let's go to the highlights.
Week 1: In a 27-24 overtime loss at Cincinnati, Cousins' first touchdown pass gave the Vikings a 7-0 lead. He also went 6-for-8 for 60 yards to set up Greg Joseph's tying field goal as regulation expired. Dalvin Cook fumbled in overtime to hand the Bengals the winning field goal. Cousins threw for 351 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers and a 106.8 passer rating.
Week 2: In a 34-33 loss at Arizona, both touchdown passes to Adam Thielen gave the Vikings a lead. Cousins also went 5-for-7 for 49 yards to set Joseph up for a 37-yard field goal, which Joseph missed as time expired. Cousins had three touchdown passes, no turnovers and a 122.4 passer rating.
Week 6: In a 34-28 overtime victory at Carolina, Cousins and the offense gave the Vikings a lead FIVE times, including Cousins' walkoff 27-yard TD pass to K.J. Osborn in overtime. All three of Cousins' touchdown passes that day gave the Vikings a lead. He threw for 373 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers and a 112.6 passer rating.
"We just know with this offense, once it's clicking, it's clicking," Cook said this week. "We go into every game [home or away] with the same mindset. We know we've got the weapons to not be stopped when we're really locked in and honed in on our little details.
"Every game, we feel like we're the best on the field. It's not an arrogance, it's just a confidence we have."
Week 9: In a 34-31 loss at Baltimore, Cousins' 50-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson gave the Vikings an early lead. Trailing in the closing minutes, he completed four of six passes for 46 yards and a tying touchdown to Thielen with 1:03 left. The Ravens then kicked a field goal and won. Cousins had two touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown and a 104.3 rating.
Week 10: In a 27-20 victory at the Chargers, the offense gave the Vikings three leads, the last coming on a Cousins touchdown pass to Tyler Conklin. Cousins had 294 yards passing, two touchdowns, a fumble and a 109.5 rating. Justin Herbert's rating: 72.5.
Week 13: In the humiliating 29-27 loss to the winless Lions, Cousins threw for 340 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, giving the Vikings a 27-23 lead with 1:50 left. He never saw the ball again.
Cousins has thrown at least two touchdown passes in nine consecutive road games. If he has two more at Chicago, he will join Tom Brady (14 and 11), Peyton Manning (11), Matt Ryan (11) and Brett Favre (11) as the only players to do it in at least 10 consecutive road games.
Is he as good as Brady, Manning and Favre? Of course not. But is he the reason his team is under .500? Heck no!
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
