More or Less: 30 touchdown passes for Kirk Cousins in 2018

In his first season with the Minnesota Vikings, will the quarterback finally finish a year with 30 or more touchdown passes?

Since becoming a starter in 2015, new Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is one of just three players in the NFL to throw for at least 25 touchdowns in each of the past three seasons.

Despite his consistency in the last few years, Cousins still has not ended a regular season in his career with at least 30 touchdown passes. It’s not that he is not capable of the feat, but it’s just simply something that has not happened yet for the quarterback.

Could 2018 be the year Cousins finally throws for at least 30 touchdowns?

Tossing 30 scores is no easy task in the NFL. Last season, only three quarterbacks were able to accomplish the feat (Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, and Russell Wilson).

To this day, there are still two teams (Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) that have never had a signal caller toss 30 or more touchdowns in a single season since the merger in 1970.

Minnesota Vikings

Even if Cousins is capable of finishing with at least 30 scores in 2018, it also depends on what the quarterback’s role in the Vikings’ offense will be.

With the Washington Redskins, the success of the offense was pretty much centered around the performance of the quarterback. In Minnesota, Cousins has enough talent around him that he should not feel the need to put the entire team on his back in order to win games.

Under Mike Zimmer, the Vikings are also a team that likes to control the clock with their rushing attack.

So if Minnesota gets ahead by a good amount during a matchup in 2018, Zimmer is most likely going to want the offense to run the ball more and only call for pass plays when they are absolutely necessary. This could ultimately lead to Cousins having less opportunities for touchdown passes.

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Minnesota’s new quarterback should still have a great season in 2018. But 30 or more touchdown passes seems a little too tall of a task for him this year based on how the Vikings’ offense likes to operate.

Prediction: Less