Vikings HC believes QB Kirk Cousins will settle into new offense

When the Minnesota Vikings hired Kevin O’Connell to replace recently fired head coach Mike Zimmer, the 37-year-old former quarterback infused the franchise with more than just a culture shift.

O’Connell, considered one of the league’s top offensive minds, brought with him a more intricate, nuanced offensive system from Los Angeles — one which Cousins himself confessed after Sunday’s win he’s still trying to master.

“Twice, I think, Justin was open for touchdowns and we didn’t connect,” Cousins admitted after the game. “I checked it down to Adam once when I thought the corner was sinking and he wasn’t. The other one, threw it earlier than I wanted to and didn’t quite see Justin put his foot in the ground and he ended up separating. If I just led him more, I think it’s a touchdown, so that’s where you feel like the plays are there to make and we didn’t connect.”

Through four games, Cousins ranks 20th in the league in completion percentage (63.1) — a notch below the NFL average of 63.9 — and passer rating (84.1) — five points below the NFL average of 89.4. Per Next Gen Stats, Cousins also ranks 23rd in completion percentage above expectation (-2.5), which measures a QB’s performance relative to the difficulty of their throws. For comparison, he ranked fourth in the same category in 2021 and eighth in 2020.

While those numbers may seem a bit concerning, O'Connell seems confident that Cousins will settle down the deeper the Vikings get into their schedule.

“As far as where Kirk’s at, it’s still four weeks into a new offensive system to him,” O’Connell told reporters on Monday. “I think Kirk is going to continue to be more consistent, make the throws that we ask him to make while running the show and doing a lot at the line of scrimmage within our no-huddle, within our offense where I feel great about where Kirk’s headed.

“Kirk’s going to continue to improve. He’s made some big-time throws. Consistency is a factor for all of us at this point, me included.”