PFF grades show just how ugly Kirk Cousins, Vikings played

Cousins has posted a worse grade just four other times as a Viking.
PFF grades show just how ugly Kirk Cousins, Vikings played
PFF grades show just how ugly Kirk Cousins, Vikings played /

Kirk Cousins posted one of his worst grades since joining the Vikings and the defense was equally as bad in Minnesota's 24-7 loss on the national stage Monday night. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Cousins posted a 51.7 passing grade – his fifth worst since joining the Vikings in 2018. 

  1. 27.6 – Green Bay 2019: 14-of-32, 230 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
  2. 44.3 – Seattle 2018: 20-of-33, 208 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
  3. 47.1 – Jacksonville 2020: 28-of-43, 305 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
  4. 48.1 – Buffalo 2018: 40-of-55, 296 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
  5. 51.7 – Philadelphia 2022: 27-of-46, 222 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT

Justin Jefferson graded at 62.8, which is his sixth lowest since debuting in 2020. 

For perspective, Cousins posted a 83.4 passing grade and Jefferson scored a 91.3 in Week 1 against the Packers. The passing game fell off a cliff from Week 1 to Week 2. 

Minnesota's offensive line played below average across the board with the exception of right tackle Brian O'Neill, who graded well in both the pass and run game. Garrett Bradbury graded solidly against the pass rush, but was below average against the run. No lineman provided worse pass protection than Ezra Cleveland. 

  • LT: Christian Darrisaw: 55.2 pass block, 59.5  run block 
  • LG: Ezra Cleveland: 48.2 pass block, 54.7 run block
  • C: Garrett Bradbury: 67.0 pass block, 54.6 run block
  • RG: Ed Ingram: 57.1 pass block, 53.2 run block
  • RT: Brian O'Neill: 72.7 pass block, 70.7 run block 

Defensively, the Vikings were gouged and allowed 486 total yards, with the vast majority of those yards piling up in the first half – when Philly scored all of its points. 

Minnesota hurried Jalen Hurts just eight times all night – and four of them were credited to Za'Darius Smith, who led the defense with a 78.3 grade. 

Harrison Smith, who suffered a concussion late in the game, and Cam Bynum posted 41.1 and 35.9 grades, two of the three worst grades on the team. Only linebacker Jordan Hicks (33.7) was worse. Bynum was at the center of a blown coverage in the first half that led to a 53-yard touchdown from Hurts to Quez Watkins. 

The top-graded cornerbacks were Cameron Dantzler and rookie Akayleb Evans, who replaced Dantzler in the second half. Their coverage grades (66.0 and 65.3, respectively) were the highest on the team, ahead of veterans Patrick Peterson (59.6) and Chandon Sullivan (60.2). 

Smith and Bynum, by the way, had coverage grades of 40.8 and 42.9, respectively.  

Related: What cost the Vikings in Philly: execution or scheme?

Related: 5 things that stood out in the Vikings' loss to the Eagles


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.