Looking Back, The Vikings’ SNF Debacle Was the Beginning of the End
K. Joudry
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In Week 17 of Minnesota’s 2023 season, the Green Bay Packers marched into U.S. Bank Stadium for a pivotal NFC North tilt. The rivals were doing their utmost to get into the postseason, but the game quickly got out of hand.
The Vikings’ SNF game was, in a word, horrendous. Green Bay walked away with a 33-10 victory and an 8-8 record. Meanwhile, Minnesota slipped down to 7-9 and a season that was essentially over.
Part of what made the game so stunning was something that didn’t really occur in the game itself. Prior to the ball being snapped, Kirk Cousins ripped off his shirt and blew the Gjallarhorn. The moment was wonderful for Minnesota’s fans, but then there was an eyebrow-raising detail to emerge toward the end of the game.
Indeed, the game was bracketed by the triumphant, chest-thumping, arena-rocking moment from Cousins to begin before the news emerged late in the 4th about how the quarterback would be approaching free agency.
The Vikings’ SNF Debacle Was the Beginning of the End
There was roughly 5:30 left in the 4th quarter and the Packers were leading by a score of 33-10. Going into the game, Nick Mullens had been benched in favor of rookie Jaren Hall. As the final quarter painfully wound down, Mullens was back in the game. Hall, the replacement, had been benched.
The camera showed Kwesi Adofo-Mensah observing his team’s failure while Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico wondered aloud about where things were going with Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings. Melissa Stark jumped in, offering an update that should now be understood as the starter’s pistol for the QB1 leaving Minnesota behind.
Stark clarified that Cousins was progressing well in his recovery. In fact, the plan was to be running in time for February. Cousins would circulate a video of himself so that teams had it ahead of free agency. Doing so would offer reassurance that he was progressing well, thereby allowing for increased confidence in cobbling together a massive offer to secure his services.
Fast forward a couple months and what happened?
Most notably, there was the social media post of the QB dropping back before firing passes. The timing? Just ahead of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, the event when the NFL collectively meets to assess draft prospects (and tamper?).
Not too long afterwards, free agency arrived. Cousins confirmed all of the rumors in short order, agreeing to a massive 4-year agreement in Atlanta that tips the scales at $180 million in total money.
Of course, Stark’s report did nothing wrong, and nor did Cousins (and/or his camp) do anything wrong by revealing how he intended to attack his rehab and the plan for circulating workout videos. The point is simply that the moment in the Vikings’ SNF game gets some added meaning now that we’ve seen how things play out. Hindsight clarifies, doesn’t it?
In Week 17, Minnesota’s season was unravelling in real time, largely due to the QB chaos that the QB-turned-HC couldn’t calm. Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall all took turns being the QB1 in those post-bye weeks; Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall all took turns being benched by the QB-turned-HC.
And during the lowest point of the season when the team was crumbling in a prime time game at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Cousins fuse was lit with the report about his upcoming approach to free agency. Don’t forget, folks, that Cousins’ final act in a Vikings uniform was to lead his Vikings to the opposite outcome. In Week 8, Minnesota marched into Lambeau and throttled the Packers. Cousins was brilliant on that day, but he tore his Achilles and the season was sunk.
Quite possibly, the SNF contest offered the most compelling moment imaginable for the Vikings to budge on how high they would go with their recovering veteran (if memory serves, Collinsworth discusses the possibility of newfound appreciation for Cousins). Getting picked apart in one’s own stadium to the most hated rival as yet another QB benching occurs is pretty low, especially since the loss was pretty much the final nail in the playoff coffin.
Quite the stark contrast to the game’s opening moments where Kirk Cousins sounded the horn. At that moment, Cousins was basking in his status as a beloved figure in Minnesota, someone who was more appreciated than ever.
The end result, though, was a disastrous game for the Vikings and a revelation about their QB1 testing free agency. And, in the end, Cousins would leave for a new team. Minnesota now moves forward with an uncertain quarterback hierarchy and a GM who is looking to avoid future SNF failures at the hands of the Packers.
Cousins will turn 36 in August.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.