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Time and time again this season, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins put the Vikings in a position to win — leading seven game-winning or would-be game-winning drives this season.
Yet the team has come away with just three wins off those drives, often due to lapses in the Vikings defense, which hasn’t made a stop on an opposing game-winning or tying drive in eight tries this season.
The defense’s failures have fallen on head coach Mike Zimmer, whose seat is the hottest it’s been in his eight-year tenure in Minnesota ahead of a pivotal matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday.
Prodded with the idea that the offense has done its job this season, Cousins didn’t take the opportunity to throw Zimmer under the bus.
Instead, he addressed the late-game sucker punches the team has taken this season and defended his coach’s seat.
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‘You Can’t Count Him Out’
On Tuesday, Cousins was asked whether he’s felt the offense has carried its end of the bargain this season by leading numerous potential game-clinching drives.
“It’s not that simple. It’s a four-quarter game and I could point to so many plays where we didn’t do our job,” Cousins said. “That’s a part of why we’re in the position we’re in (with) less than two minutes. It’s such a team game and rarely have I walked off the field and felt like I could just say the offense did its job. There’s always that feeling that we left some plays out there, we could have played better there were unforced errors, and that’s why, on the flight home, you feel sick to your stomach — because you know there were things you could have done differently to change the outcome. That’s the way this game is.”
Cousins added that Zimmer, being the team’s forefront leader, has been resilient this season, which has brushed off on the rest of the team.
“Coach Zimmer is tough-minded. He’s resilient. He’s been through a lot in his life he’s been through a lot in his football career. That’s a guy you’re not going to knock down easily, and you can’t count him out,” Cousins said. “I think we feed off that, and it makes us a resilient group.”
While Zimmer’s abrasive attitude is rumored to wear down players, Cousins said his leadership has refined the team’s persistence.
“He’s always going to come in and he’s going to tell us the truth. He’s going to coach us hard. But he’s also going to tell us the truth and say, ‘Hey, there’s some positives here.’ Every time you lose, it hurts. It really hurts. It hurts him too. But as the leader, he knows he’s got to get back up on the horse each day and keep fighting.”
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Cousins Not Counting on Fans to Turn on Vikings
The Vikings’ Week 8 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at home was a rude awakening for the team, with fans booing several times for their poor performance on Sunday Night Football.
Again, facing the limelight on Thursday against the Steelers, Cousins isn’t counting on giving fans a chance to turn on the team.
“Well, we got to get started fast and get the crowd in it and make that an advantage all game long,” Cousins said. “I know when we’re home and we start fast, it’s a tremendous advantage for our team.”
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