Cousins' Turnovers, Inaccuracy Cost Vikings in Narrow Loss to Packers

Kirk Cousins was handed opportunity after opportunity to complete a dramatic comeback win in Green Bay.

He couldn't get it done.

The Vikings' 21-16 loss to the Packers on Sunday featured major momentum shifts, big plays, and questionable calls by the officiating crew. But ultimately, the story is simple: Cousins lost the game. He had his worst performance as a Viking, combining woeful accuracy with inexcusable decision-making. When he needed to rise to the occasion, he came up short. That's his reputation. Once again, he proved why that reputation exists.

One specific decision will stick with Cousins and Vikings fans for a while. With just over five minutes remaining and the Vikings facing first and goal from the Packers' 8-yard-line, Cousins was pressured and rolled out to his right. No receivers were open. He should've thrown the ball away.

Instead, he lofted the ball towards the back corner of the end zone and a heavily-covered Stefon Diggs. Kevin King picked off the pass, and the Vikings' best opportunity to take the lead was dead.

It was an inexcusable, mind-boggling decision from an eighth-year veteran and the worst moment in a game full of bad moments for the Vikings' QB. Cousins finished 14 of 32 for 230 yards with one touchdown, two picks and a lost fumble. After his touchdown pass to Diggs cut the lead to five, the Vikings had four chances to take the lead. One ended with the back-breaking pick. The other three ended with punts.

The three turnovers were the story, but the more concerning long-term issue for the Vikings was Cousins' inaccuracy. He missed receivers long and he missed them short. He threw behind his targets and over the heads. The pass protection wasn't awful and the coverage wasn't blanketing. He just didn't make the throws the Vikings needed him to make.

Vikings put up 7.0 yards per play and allowed 4.9 yards per play, but lost.

There have only been 13 games in the last 10 years in the NFL with the losing team >7 YPP and winning team <5 YPP.

Kirk Cousins has been the losing QB in 3 such games since 2013.

Kryptonite.
— Krauser (@Krauserrific) September 15, 2019

Early on, it looked like the Vikings were going to get run off the field in Green Bay. The Packers scored with relative ease on each of their first three possessions, taking a commanding 21-0 lead. Then Dalvin Cook ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run and something clicked for Mike Zimmer's defense, which held the Packers without a point the rest of the way.

Rodgers and the Packers were shut down for 11 straight drives, jamming the door wide open for Cousins to steal a win on the road. It was a very impressive, resilient effort from a defense that was thin in the secondary and looked lifeless in the first quarter.

It was also another excellent afternoon for the Vikings' running game. Cook ran for 154 yards on 20 carries and Alexander Mattison had a couple nice runs. On the drive that ended in the end zone interception, the Vikings were ripping off chunk after chunk on the ground. The decision to throw on first down was surprising. Cousins' decision to not throw it away was inexplicable.

The end result was a game that the Vikings could've – and probably should've – won.

They didn't get it done, and if Cousins doesn't turn his play around, no amount of rushing and defensive success will be enough for the Vikings to be a contender in 2019.