Brian Murphy: This is the Kirk Cousins the Vikings needed
Chic and Kirk Cousins are synonymous as yellow mustard and maple syrup.
But the shirtless quarterback and his baller chains have turned the shameless square into a TikTok hipster and the undisputed leader of the surging Vikings. Perhaps it was all meant to play out this organically after four unhinged seasons of gawdy statistics and unfulfilled playoff success.
Cousins finally satisfying his $40 million obligations by delivering clutch results.
Seizing his authority as the alpha male in a locker room yearning to be shepherded by its signal caller.
And basking in the afterglow of a stirring 33-26 win over New England that left Cousins munching on an NBC turkey leg and contemplating gold teeth for his viral victory dances.
“I really got to call my dentist in Holland, Mich., and ask for some custom grills,” Cousins quipped.
Who could have imagined the milquetoast son of a preacher swapping his bespectacled Clark Kent persona for Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels?
Winning covers a multitude of sins, so Kirk doing the white man’s overbite like grandpa at the wedding means the Vikings are doing special things. They have the NFC North in a vise and are competing with Philadelphia for the top seed in the conference.
They have nothing for which to apologize. Not after winning two of their three toughest games on the schedule.
It is one thing to spin magic out of impossible odds and steal an overtime victory at Buffalo. It is quite another to rebound from Minnesota’s most embarrassing home loss in six decades with a resilient and complimentary win over the greatest NFL coach in a generation – a win the Vikings absolutely had to have.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots had no answer for Vikings superstar Justin Jefferson, who already is the most prolific third-year wide receiver in league history with six games remaining.
The porous pass protection that victimized Cousins throughout Sunday’s 40-3 drubbing to the Cowboys remarkably vanished. Coach Kevin O’Connell not only overhauled the scheme, but dialed up pass plays that allowed Cousins to flourish with a season-high 299 yards, three touchdowns and 116.1 quarterback rating.
This is what ownership and the front office envisioned from the rookie head coach. That innate ability of a former quarterback to connect with Cousins and draw out the confidence and timely playmaking that mostly has eluded the veteran passer since he entered the league with Washington.
Cousins is playing to win games for his teammates, not trying to avoid defeat as a convenient scapegoat of Mike Zimmer and his banished regime.
“Kevin has empowered me so much,” Cousins said. “This team has empowered me so much. At times it almost brings me to tears the way these guys support me and have my back. It really adds to the fun of playing and working together.”
To be sure, Cousins is only one three-interception, strip-sack mess from being perceived as a transparent blame deflector who tosses word salads into plausible deniability.
Lest anyone forget, Cousins’ refusal to be vaccinated kept him in COVID protocol and unavailable for Minnesota’s crucial Week 16 game at Green Bay in January. Cousins wouldn’t be able to secure fully guaranteed contracts for eight consecutive seasons without doing what’s in the best interests of Cousins.
No matter. The Vikings are finally reaping the rewards of a committed payroll leader. His production may be waning, but Cousins is elevating his performance and throwing darts when the moments demand it.
“You don’t play like he did tonight without really starting to develop some ownership of our offense,” O’Connell said after the game.
Cousins’ first-quarter interception looked like every pass your drunk uncle threw in the family touch game before the turkey was carved. But he did not spiral into a paranoid check-down artist.
After the Patriots’ foolish roughing penalty on Vikings punter Ryan Wright resuscitated a key fourth-quarter drive, Cousins through a dime over the middle to Jefferson to set up the go-ahead score – patiently looking off Jefferson to the right and slinging a rope to Adam Thielen over tight coverage in the back of the end zone.
“I was trying to make sure they truly went with Justin, and they did, so Adam got through there,” Cousins said. “Just a phenomenal catch by him.”
Phenomenon is the best way to describe the 2022 Vikings. They are defying expectations and analytics but doing extraordinary things through their senses rather than cognitive thought or intuition.
That is not to say their game plans rely on charmed fortunes, officiating breaks and the inexplicable – like Josh Allen fumbling in his own end zone in the final minute of a sure victory.
But there is something else happening here. Special players like Jefferson and Cousins doing special things at special moments. Special teamers like Wright and kick returner Kene Nwangwu, whose third-quarter touchdown return might have been the biggest play of the game, doing the same.
The Vikings experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows against Buffalo and Dallas and capped off this seminal three-game stretch with an irrepressible triumph over New England that reminded the country not to dismiss Minnesota too soon.
The path to the postseason is still long. But it’s all downhill from here.
Related: How the Vikings put Dallas behind them to beat New England
Related: Vikings coach calls out 'prime time' Kirk Cousins in victory speech
