PFF grades show just how ugly Kirk Cousins, Vikings played

Cousins has posted a worse grade just four other times as a Viking.

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Sep 20, 2022 10:45 AM EDT

Cousins has posted a worse grade just four other times as a Viking.

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.

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