Bobbi Evers, contributor
Kirk Cousins: family man, singer and our very own Minnesota Vikings quarterback. The embodiment of a basic suburban father who sits around eating saltines all day has helped redeem the Vikings for the 2022-2023 NFL season. As the season rolls on into week five, fans are anticipating another win as the Vikings have been killing it with a record of 4-1. Every Minnesotan should be beaming as the Vikings push through after ending the 2021 season 8-9-0.
While Cousins has been doing well in the season so far, as a fan I worry with Cousins’ stats on performance during primetime slots. Their game against the Eagles was one of Cousins’ worst primetime performances in all 11 of his years as a NFL quarterback. His three interceptions in the second half absolutely obliterated any chance for the Vikings to make a comeback. While overall Cousins is typically not that bad in terms of primetime stats, the loss against the Eagles is enough to make one lose faith in Cousins’ ability to get it together on a Monday night. Jake Schouten,Student and Vikings fan, has a critical approach to Cousins. “While having a great overall start to the year, he still has lackluster performances during primetime games so far, which may bite him come December and January,” Schouten said.
As for Monday night football, in comparison to the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers’ 11-8 record, Cousins has a 2-10 record. There is something about playing in the only game of the night that just destroys Cousins, and it is the bane of every Vikings fan’s existence. I’ll defend Cousins for the sake of the Vikings and the hopeful point we are at so far in the season, but mostly just to oppose Rodgers in any way possible. With the Vikings’ win over the Packers 23-7, it’s hard to say that I could be unimpressed with family man Cousins melting cheesehead Rodgers. No offense to any Packers fans out there, it’s only personal.
While Cousins has to be painfully aware of his boring dad status, at least he is a family man. That being said, you have to respect his five million dollar contract with a 25 million dollar sign on bonus for the season. All we can hope for is some variety in the flannels he keeps wearing with that kind of salary.
As the season progresses, there is no doubt in my mind that Cousins will continue to carry the Vikings to victory. The schedule will get significantly tougher in the next few weeks, with back to back games against two other 4-1 teams (the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys) coming in November. On the bright side, both of those games will be taking place on Sunday afternoons, and Cousins has had no trouble performing well during the day this season.