The Best of Kirk: Vikings QB Top 10 Moment That Will Define Cousins Legacy in Minnesota

Few players in the Minnesota Vikings’ history conjure up the reaction that Kirk Cousins does. He led the Vikings to a 50-37-1 record in six seasons and is near the top of every major statistical passing category in team history.

Some fans believe he was held back by a deteriorating defense and a head coach who never accepted him. Others believe he his gaudy salary was what held the Vikings back from reaching their full potential, while he was playing quarterback

One reason why it was difficult for Cousins to be entirely accepted by Vikings fans, was due to the circumstances surrounding his arrival. Zim was at the top of his reign, and Minnesota had just played in the NFC Championship Game, the season prior (2017).

Quarterback Case Keenum played a significant role in that infamous 38-7 loss in Philadelphia, just one week after the Minneapolis Miracle. Yet, many fans (and his coach at the time) wanted Keenum to return in 2018. He would have been much cheaper than Cousins and had already developed a chemistry with teammates.

The controversial run of Kirk Cousins + Minnesota Vikings

Instead, the Vikings signed Kirk Cousins to a fully guaranteed three-year/$84 million deal in March 2018. This was weeks after head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters at the NFL Combine that he didn’t want to sacrifice team-building to secure a high-priced quarterback.

Zimmer would coach Cousins for four seasons, before being fired after an 8-9 finish in 2021. The relationship between Zim and Kirk was always rocky, which played a part in the team hiring Kevin O’Connell as Zimmer’s replacement. O’Connell was the anti-Zimmer, empowering Cousins whenever possible and helping the quarterback engineer eight fourth-quarter comebacks in 2022.

But Kirk then suffered an Achilles tear on Oct. 29, 2023, at Lambeau Field, which cost him the rest of the 2023 season. Four and a half months later, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, ending his six-year run as Minnesota Vikings quarterback.

This weekend, Kirk Cousins returns to U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time, since leaving for Atlanta. In anticipation of his return, let’s look at the ten games that defined Cousins’ career in purple.

10.) 2018 | 29-29 (OT) tie at Packers | Kirk Cousins goes toe-to-toe vs Aaron Rodgers

The second game of the Kirk Cousins era may be as impactful as any game on this list. After trailing 20-7 entering the fourth quarter and 23-14 with 7:38 to play in regulation, Cousins engineered a ferocious comeback. A 75-yard bomb to Stefon Diggs instantly got the Vikings back in the game.

Following two field goals by Packers kicker Mason Crosby (and an interception that went through receiver Laquon Treadwell’s hands), the Vikings trailed 29-21. That’s when Cousins led a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that culminated in a dime to Adam Thielen. Cousins followed that up with a two-point conversion to Diggs to tie the game at 29.

After that, the game got drunk like the people of Green Bay. Crosby missed a 52-yarder on the final play of regulation. Then Vikings kicker Daniel Carlson missed a 49-yarder on the first drive of overtime. After forcing a Packers punt, Cousins again got the Vikings into field goal range.

Carlson lined up for a 35-yard attempt on the final play of overtime and missed, resulting in a tie. For Cousins, it could have been a comeback that endeared him to fans from the start. Instead, the Vikings tied with their rivals, foreshadowing an up-and-down season. His 425 yards were a career-high at the time, and it was his fourth career game with four touchdown passes.

The Vikings’ rookie kicker was cut the next day. The Raiders would sign him and help turn him into one of the league’s best kickers. This would continue the ever-revolving door of kickers to go in and out of Minnesota, a problem they finally resolved this season.

9.) 2018 | 23-20 win at Eagles | Cousins helps Vikings get revenge

It appeared that the Vikings were getting back on track three weeks later when they got revenge for their loss in the NFC Championship nine months earlier. Kirk Cousins was sharp against the Philadelphia Eagles, going 30-of-37 for 301 yards and a touchdown, in the way. It sparked a four-game winning streak and got the Vikings back into the 2018 playoff race.

This game might be best remembered for Cousins giving an epic pre-game speech to the team. This began a short-lived run where Cousins would give passionate pre-game speeches, but none topped this one. Zimmer gave him and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo game balls for their performances.

8.) 2021 | 37-10 loss at Packers | Cousins’ COVID finale ends Mike Zimmer era

Kirk Cousins didn’t play in this game, so why is this game on here? The Vikings entered Week 17 of the 2021 season with a 7-8 record, barely clinging to their playoff hopes. Zimmer was on the hot seat and needed to make a deep playoff run to keep his job.

That evaporated when it was reported that Cousins would miss the game after being moved to the COVID-19 list. He had missed several practices during training camp before the season, and when he returned, Cousins said that deciding whether to get vaccinated was a private matter.

It appeared that he and Zimmer had differing opinions on the matter, so for the deciding game to come down to Cousins missing time due to COVID added salt to the already wounded relationship between he and Zim. Sean Mannion completed 22-of-36 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown, in Kirk’s absence. The Mike Zimmer era in Minnesota ended one week later.

7.) 2022 | 39-36 (OT) win vs Colts | A record comeback

The 2022 season was full of comebacks, but none was bigger than the 33-point comeback against the Colts. After trailing 33-0 at halftime to the 4-8-1 Colts, Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense got to work in the second half. A two-yard touchdown pass to wideout K.J. Osborn got the Vikings on the board. C.J. Ham would barrel in for a one-yard touchdown rush to cut the deficit to 36-14 going into the fourth quarter.

The comeback felt possible when Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for an eight-yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 36-21 with 12:52 remaining in regulation. Cousins would hit Thielen for a one-yard touchdown later in the fourth quarter to make it 36-28. But the comeback was complete when Cousins hit running back Dalvin Cook on a catch-and-run for a 64-yard touchdown, followed by the tying two-point conversion to T.J. Hockenson.

With the score tied at 36, the game went to overtime. The teams exchanged punts, leaving the Vikings with 1:41 to score and avoid the tie. Cousins marched the Vikings 60 yards downfield in six plays to set up the 40-yard game-winning field goal by Greg Joseph.

It would be the largest comeback in NFL history, breaking the previous record of 32 points the Buffalo Bills overcame in the 1992 playoffs. The victory also clinched the Vikings’ first division title since 2017. Cousins’ 460 yards were a career-high, and his four touchdowns again tied a career-high.

6.) 2019 | 27-23 win vs Broncos | Cousins’ first big comeback

This was Cousins’s first big comeback as a Viking. The 7-3 Vikings fell behind 20-0 at halftime to the 3-7 Broncos, and nothing was working on offense. A bye week was looming, and it appeared that the Vikings had overlooked the inferior Denver squad.

Cousins was known as a front-runner during his first season and a half in Minnesota, putting up good stats but not being able to deliver in clutch moments. This was the first time he showed he could punch back since the Packers game in 2018, throwing three second-half touchdowns to help the Vikings become the first team in 100 games to overcome a 20-plus point deficit at halftime.

Why is this game above the Colts game? Cousins still threw two picks in that game, while he didn’t throw any against the Broncos. Two of his touchdowns against the Broncos also attacked the defense downfield, once on a 52-yard strike to Diggs and then the 32-yard go-ahead score to tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Every comeback requires some degree of luck. But the win over the Broncos felt much more like a team taking a win from their opponent, as opposed to the Colt’s comeback, where Indianapolis appeared to have given up at times. It also gave us another Kirk Cousins meme that would live in infamy.

5.) 2023 | 24-10 win at Packers | End of the Kirk Cousins era

This game was officially a win, but it felt like a loss. The Vikings stormed into Lambeau Field and took a commanding 24-3 lead after Kirk Cousins found Jordan Addison for a 20-yard touchdown halfway through the third quarter.

Minnesota was on its way to its third straight win after starting the season 1-4, and Cousins was playing perhaps his best football as a Viking. He had thrown two touchdowns on the day to give him 18 on the season and just five interceptions.

But the mood, season, and future changed when Cousins tried scrambling on a third-down pass in the fourth quarter. He hopped to the sideline and left the field immediately on a cart. It was soon confirmed that he had torn his Achilles, ending his season and time as the starting quarterback of the Vikings.

Minnesota would finish 3-6 down the stretch and missed the playoffs with a 7-10 record. Fans were left wondering what could have been had Cousins stayed healthy while the defense began to improve as the season progressed.

4.) 2018 | 24-10 loss vs Bears | Sideline blowup with Adam Thielen

The 2018 Vikings had meandered through the regular season, not meeting the expectations set upon them entering the year. But they still entered the final week of the season with a simple playoff scenario: beat the Bears, who were 11-4 and had already clinched the NFC North, and Minnesota would make the playoffs. Chicago gained nothing in terms of seeding with a win or a loss.

Instead, the Vikings got walloped on both sides of the ball. The Bears outgained them 332-164. Kirk Cousins never got into a rhythm, going 20-of-33 passing for 132 yards and one touchdown. He also took four sacks from the ferocious Bears defense.

As if the performance on the field wasn’t embarrassing enough, the FOX broadcast caught Thielen yelling at Cousins. It then appeared that Cousins was explaining why he couldn’t throw to Thielen and it appeared that the two came to a mutual understanding, but the damage had been done. With the season on the line, Cousins was getting into it with his receiver.

3.) 2021 | 19-17 win vs Lions | Kirk Cousins + Mike Zimmer sideline shove

Once upon a time, the Detroit Lions were bad. All the time. When the Vikings played them in 2021 at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Lions were 0-4. The Vikings weren’t much better, sitting at 1-3 after some heartbreaking losses to begin the season.

It appeared the Vikings were going to cruise to victory when Greg Joseph kicked a 55-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 16-6 lead with 4:28 left in the game. The Vikings defense even turned the Lions over on downs the next drive. But Joseph missed a 49-yard field goal on the next drive and the game began to unravel.

Detroit responded with a field goal to cut the game to 16-9. After two unsuccessful runs, the Vikings opted to play it safe on third down with a run to tailback Alexander Mattison who fumbled the ball with less than two minutes left. The Lions would score three plays later and convert the two-point conversion to take a 17-16 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

That’s when Kirk Cousins took over at the Vikings’ 18-yard line. He completed three passes that covered 46 yards to set up Joseph for a 54-yard field goal. Joseph hit this one to give the Vikings a 19-17 victory. That’s when the celebration on the Vikings sideline got weird.

FOX cameras caught Zimmer and Cousins shoving one-another with what appeared to be hostility. This moment pretty much confirmed rumors of the massive rift growing between the two, which Zimmer confirmed in his tell-all story with The Star Tribune this summer.

Cousins screamed, “You like that?!” to Zimmer, who didn’t take too kindly to the words… or the shove. “Hey, I pushed Kirk back pretty hard, too.” It was evident that Kirk had saved Zimmer’s job and that Zim wasn’t going to be around following the season.

2.) 2022, 31-24 loss vs Giants (playoffs). 4th and 8

The Vikings made the playoffs in their first season under O’Connell. They were set to host the Giants, who they had beaten three weeks earlier on another last-second field goal.

Cousins played great for most of the rematch, completing 31-of-39 passes for 273 yards, two passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown. But this game is remembered for one pass that Cousins made, and it ended the season.

Trailing 31-24 with 1:51 remaining in the game, the Vikings were facing 4th-and-8 at their own 48-yard line. Cousins dropped back to pass and threw a pass to T.J. Hockenson near the sideline, five yards short of the first-down marker. Hockenson never had a chance to pick up the first-down, and the Vikings’ season was over.

After winning all 11 one-score games in the regular season, the Vikings came up short when it mattered the most. Sure, the Vikings’ defense allowed 431 yards, but the lasting image was the ball in Cousins’ hands with the game on the line. And when you’re paid a lot of money, fans expect you deliver regardless of how much help you get.

1.) 2019, 26-20 (OT) win at Saints. Kirk Cousins comes up clutch

Although the Giants loss was frustrating, it wasn’t like Cousins hadn’t delivered in the playoffs before. Following a 10-6 regular season in 2019, the Vikings traveled to New Orleans to face the 13-3 Saints. It would take everyone playing their best to pull off the upset, and Cousins held up his end.

Cousins’ stat line wasn’t spectacular, going 19-of-31 for 242 yards. But he didn’t turn the ball over and kept the chains moving, helping the Vikings build a 20-10 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Saints rallied, sending the game to overtime.

But the Vikings got the ball to begin the extra period. Rules at that time stated that a touchdown on the opening drive ended overtime. A field goal would allow the opposing team a chance to score. The Vikings had no interest in allowing the Saints to get the ball back in overtime.

On the sixth play of the drive, faked a handoff to Cook and lofted a perfect pass to Thielen, who corralled the ball at the Saints’ 2-yard line. Three plays later, Cousins called game, finding tight end Kyle Rudolph in the corner of the endzone to give the Vikings the walk-off touchdown.

The locker room celebrated afterwards, leading to Cousins yelling out, “You like that?!” for the first time in a public setting as a Viking. It sent the hated-Saints home and the Vikings punched their ticket to the Divisional Round to face the 49ers where they would ultimately lose 27-10.

But the victory over the Saints gave fans proof that Cousins was capable of making plays when it mattered most. Unfortunately, the roster began to erode following off-season (partially due to his contract) and the Vikings never won another playoff game under Cousins.

Who knows how things may have been different if Cousins had a head coach in his corner from the moment he stepped foot in Minnesota as a Viking.

Maybe the signing would have paid off better or led to more consistent playoff success instead of two playoff appearances in six years. But one thing is indisputable: the Kirk Cousins era was never dull, even if things weren’t always going well.