Inside The Vikings

Watch: Kirk Cousins Throws Three First-Half Touchdown Passes

Cousins is having a day against the Eagles.
Will Ragatz|
Watch: Kirk Cousins Throws Three First-Half Touchdown Passes
Watch: Kirk Cousins Throws Three First-Half Touchdown Passes

All of a sudden, the run-heavy 2019 Vikings have begun to look like the 1998 Vikings.

Kirk Cousins threw for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first half against the Eagles, picking on a banged-up Philadelphia secondary with precision. He completed 12 of 17 passes.

On the Vikings' opening drive, Cousins found Adam Thielen 3 times for 31 yards, including this touch pass to the back of the end zone.

Thielen could've had another touchdown on the ensuing drive, but Cousins took to long delivering the ball and Thielen couldn't stay in bounds. The Vikings settled for a field goal.

The Vikings' next two scoring drives needed a combined three plays. After a nice Alexander Mattison run, Cousins found a wide-open Stefon Diggs for a 62-yard score, Diggs' first since Week 2.

The Vikings' very next offensive play, one drive later, looked pretty similar.

That was a 49-yard score that directly followed a 4th-down stop. Both Diggs touchdowns came on play-action, and both came against the man coverage of backup cornerback Rasul Douglas.

On the Vikings' final drive of the first half, Cousins had Diggs open deep again but the throw was a bit too long. 

Diggs finished the half with 4 catches for 135 yards and two scores, but did have a dropped pass that led to an Andrew Sendejo interception late in the half. Thielen had 4 catches for 38 yards and a touchdown, and Kyle Rudolph and Dalvin Cook added two catches apiece.

The Vikings lead the Eagles 24-10 at the break.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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