After signing a three-year contract for 84 million guaranteed dollars with the Minnesota Vikings prior to last season, Kirk Cousins did not have a great year.
Though the former Redskins quarterback was not a complete bust last season, he struggled in big games and failed to lead the Vikings to the playoffs after the team had made it to the postseason year before with journeyman Case Keenum under center.
This season, it looked like it would be more of the same as the Vikings started 2-2 and the 31-year-old was criticized by some of his teammates for his play.
Since then, however, Cousins has been electric and Minnesota has gone 7-2, only losing to the playoff-bound Chiefs and Seahawks.
While nothing about his game jumps off the page, Cousins has been great for the Vikings and is ranked in the top five of almost every major passing rate metric, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Big plays are not a huge part of Cousins’ game, but he’s been very solid and has only four interceptions compared to 24 touchdowns.
“All of this adds up to a quarterback who is practically never letting the ball hit the ground, yet is gaining more yards per attempt than any full-season starter this year,” FiveThirtyEight writes. “By nearly any metric, he’s having a top-five season for a team in the thick of playoff contention.”
Trailing a game behind the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North title crown, Cousins and the Vikings have three games to catch up with their division rivals, including a meeting between the two teams on December 23 in Minnesota.
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