Though Not Quite Prime Time, London Game an Important One for Kirk Cousins
K. Joudry
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The London game will be an important one for Kirk Cousins. Indeed, the Vikings are looking to get to an impressive 3-1 rather than a humdrum 2-2. Getting a solid effort from their QB1 would go a long way in accomplishing that goal.
So far, #8 has been good but not great. The stats reflect that reality. He has a 62.2 completion percentage to go alongside his 758 passing yards, 5 TDs, and 3 INTs. Overall, he’s averaging less than 2 TDs passes per game and just a touch more than 250 passing yards per game.
Of course, the season is still young, and there’s good reason to believe the stats will become considerably more impressive. After all, Justin Jefferson has been off in recent weeks, limiting Cousins’ ability to pile up more impressive numbers. Plus, Cousins looked pretty darn good on that final drive against Detroit.
The Saints will be presenting a challenging defense on Sunday morning. Their defensive front – led by edge rushers Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport – are capable of creating pressure. Demario Davis is a great player, and their secondary features Tyrann Mathieu and Marshon Lattimore.
For whatever it’s worth, perhaps the most impressive moment of Cousins’ career came against the Saints. Following the 2019 regular season, Cousins and the Vikings took on the Saints in the playoffs. The QB found Kyle Rudolph in the end zone for a game-winning TD in overtime. Oh, and that throw occurred after a sensational long pass to Adam Thielen to get near the end zone.
Perhaps Kirk Cousins will need some similar heroics to take down the Saints in the upcoming London game.
In my mind, Minnesota ought to win this game. The Saints will be without some of their critical players and the Vikings have a more complete team. The end result should be a purple victory. If Cousins can put a modest start to the year behind him, the Vikings will have an even better advantage.
Kevin O’Connell should establish the run early and allow Cousins to build off of that with plenty of play action. Finding a way to effectively integrate all the receiving weapons – especially Jefferson – is a similarly worthwhile goal. If done successfully, Cousins will be heading toward a strong game for one of the NFL’s international games.
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