Cousins seeks to slay Monday night dragon in Seattle—keys to a Vikings victory
Kirk Cousins has done a great job of checking several career negative boxes over the past seven weeks as he’s led the Vikings to a tie atop the NFC North with Green Bay.
Cousins, who leads the NFL with a 114.8 passer rating, has won three games on the road this season, owns two prime time victories including a signature win in Dallas and most recently led a 27 point second half comeback victory over Denver. These are all things that have been pointed to as past failures for Cousins but his critics have been quieted by some terrific play that has vaulted Cousins into the league MVP conversation. Here are his sizzling numbers the past seven games: 6-1 record, 73.3 completion percentage, 289 passing yards per game, 18 TD passes, 1 interception and 1 lost fumble.
The Vikings’ hot QB has a couple more dragons to slay—his Monday night futility and gaining his first playoff victory. The postseason opportunity looks to be forthcoming with the Vikings at 8-3 with five regular season games left. Next up is a Monday night date in Seattle where Cousins will seek his first-ever win on the ESPN national stage after seven losses. Only one of those defeats was during his time with the Vikings and it was last December’s 21-7 loss in Seattle.
That was a defensive battle for three quarters before star QB Russell Wilson and the Seahawks defense made the big plays down the stretch. Wilson had a 40 yard run to set up a touchdown and the Seahawks defense had a goal line stand and a strip sack on Cousins that was returned for a TD. Cousins threw for 208 yards that night but 70 yards came on the final, garbage-time drive.
Minnesota also was outrushed 214-77 with Chris Carson gaining 90 yards and Wilson 61 yards while Dalvin Cook gained 55 rushing yards on just 13 carries. Wilson only threw for 72 passing yards but with the running game so effective, the Seahawks didn’t need to throw it often.
Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer was so frustrated with the offense and not trying to run it more that he fired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo after the Seattle game and elevated Kevin Stefanski to OC, a move that has paid dividends this season with the changes instituted by Stefanski with input from offensive advisor Gary Kubiak.
Here are nine keys to the Vikings’ gaining a much needed win to stay on track for a division title and beat Coach Pete Carroll for the first time as Seahawks leader after his five straight wins over the Purple:
1.Be fearless Kirk and throw it against a not great pass defense: Seattle ranks No. 29 against the pass, has only 23 sacks this season and is much better against the run (No. 9) so while the combo of Cook and Alex Mattison must have some success running, it seems that the passing game will be the key to victory. It’s good news that Adam Thielen is expected to return from his hamstring injury so he can team with Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Irv Smith Jr., Bisi Johnson and Dalvin Cook out of the backfield to give Cousins his full arsenal of weapons.
2. Vikings O-line needs to play well: It’s good news that underrated guard Josh Kline is expected back from a concussion and the offensive line needs to have a good night against a talented front seven led by five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner (103 tackles, third most in the league) and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney who missed last week’s win in Philadelphia with a sports hernia so he is questionable for Monday night. Stout defensive tackles Jarran Reed and Poona Ford gave the Vikings a hard time in last year’s game.
3. Get off to a good start and wear down the Seahawks with up-tempo offense: Minnesota can’t afford to fall behind big as they did against Denver with Seattle being one of the NFL’s top teams at 9-2. A key to the Vikings’ great comeback against a good Denver defense was their up tempo offense that they ran the entire second half. It wore down the Denver D and is a great formula moving forward since Cousins operates so well in the hurry-up/two minute offense.
4. Protect the football: Seattle leads the league with 14 fumble recoveries so Cousins, Cook, Diggs and all the Vikings need to be wary of a D that will try to knock the ball loose.
5. Stop the run: Seattle is No. 5 in rushing and hurt the Vikings with their ground game in last year’s matchup. The Vikings would love to have defensive tackle Linval Joseph back from his knee injury although Jaleel Johnson played well in his place with six tackles and a sack against Denver and will stay in the rotation. Leading tackler Eric Kendricks will look to have a big game with his brother Mychal a starting linebacker for the Seahawks. Carson leads the Seahawks with 879 rushing yards and Rashaad Penny scored the winning TD on a 58 yard run last week in Philly. And of course there’s the scrambling of Russell Wilson.
6. Contain Wilson’s scrambles and sack him: Wilson is the co-front runner with Lamar Jackson for NFL MVP and he’s such a dynamic quarterback passing with a 112.1 rating, 24 TDs, 3 interceptions and running (271 rushing yards and 3 TDs). Kendricks and Anthony Barr must spy him and contain his scrambling while Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen need to have a big night and sack Wilson. Along with some timely Zimmer blitzes that can disrupt Wilson.
7. Corners have to play better: if the Vikings are going to win the NFC North and get on a playoff run, the cornerbacks must up their game. Xavier Rhodes needs to be more consistent and the other three corners—Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander and Mike Hughes—also must be solid. The Vikings also need the return of all pro safety Harrison Smith from his hamstring injury. Among Seattle receivers Tyler Lockett (63 catches for 831 yards and 6 TDs) is the speedster who leads the way and rookie D.K. Metcalf (38 for 630, 5 TDs) is a big target for Wilson.
8. Solid special teams: Lockett is a dangerous kickoff and punt returner. The Seahawks blocked a Dan Bailey field goal in last year’s game so the protection needs to be good and Bailey needs to be solid under the bright lights. Ameer Abdullah and Mike Hughes must protect the ball in the return game—both fumbled in the Denver game--and perhaps they can pop a big play.
9. Don’t be intimidated by playing at Seattle: it’s regarded as one of the NFL’s toughest venues but the Seahawks have lost twice at home this season—by six points to New Orleans and by 14 points to Baltimore. Both are excellent teams but it shows that a confident Vikings team playing well is capable of getting the job done.
The pick--Vikings pull the upset: Both teams should be playoff bound but they both need to win to stay on track for possible division titles. Seattle is one game behind San Francisco but did beat them earlier and host them in the season finale. In looking at Green Bay’s relatively soft remaining schedule, I think it’s likely that the Vikings must win their remaining games—including the Monday December 23 home rematch with the Packers—in order to win the division at 13-3. This game with the Seahawks also could impact playoff seeding if both teams wind up as wild cards.
I see another big game from Cousins leading the way to an exciting win as he can pick apart the Seahawks pass defense with the play action and screen game. Wilson also will make his share of big plays but I think the Vikings will play better run defense than last year and sack Wilson enough to turn the tide. I’ve got the Vikings 24-21.
Around the NFL Observations:
1.Michael Thomas is on pace for an NFL receptions record: the Saints superstar receiver has 104 catches through 11 games (for 1,242 yards and six touchdowns) and he’s projected to catch 151 passes that would break Marvin Harrison’s record of 143 receptions in 2002. It's a record that Vikings Hall of Famer Cris Carter held for one year after 122 catches in 1994 before Herman Moore surpassed him and later Harrison set the standard.
Thomas reminds me of Carter is so many ways: both played at Ohio State, are 6’3”, 210 pounds and run a 4.5 40 yard dash. They run impeccable routes, are magicians working the sidelines and on intermediate routes, their hands are among the best all-time and they have multiple 100 catch and Pro Bowl seasons.
In what will soon be a record year for Thomas if he stays healthy, he clearly deserves to be in the MVP conversation. But a wide receiver has never been selected as the AP NFL MVP and Thomas almost certainly won’t win it due to the outstanding seasons that QBs Lamar Jackson and Wilson are having for playoff bound teams.
2. It’s hard to understand the NFL and the networks not changing the time of Sunday’s matchup of 10-1 San Francisco at 9-2 Baltimore which is scheduled for noon. This game should have been flexed to Sunday night over the New England at Houston game.
3. Packers at Giants: Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers were dominated at San Francisco last Sunday night in a 37-8 shellacking. It’s hard to envision the Giants—losers of seven straight—knocking off the Pack but Green Bay has lost two of their last three and must get their game together. I still see Green Bay winning their next three--at the Giants and home vs. Washington and Chicago--before the big Christmas week game in Minnesota.