4 things that must happen for Vikings to win the Super Bowl in 2020
By Dustin Baker
Cousins has to deliver in three high-stakes games in a row
By the time the festivities kick-off for the Vikings in September, Kirk Cousins will be three years removed from Washington Football Team. A reasonable onlooker can surmise that organization held back and/or improperly showcased Cousins’ talents.
It is time for Cousins to replicate his 2019 NFC wild-card performance and make it commonplace. It’s the most probable path for Minnesota to win in February.
We know Cousins is a regular-season machine, but he must morph into a playoff cyborg. It took Drew Brees eight seasons as a full-time starter to hoist a Lombardi Trophy. Cousins has the football tools and IQ to follow suit.
In order to do so, Cousins will need to take his 2019 passer rating of 107.4 and channel it into each and every playoff game. He will probably have tailback Dalvin Cook to ease the workload, so that is a perk. With Mike Zimmer still in charge, the defense is also capable of doing its part.
But in the most pivotal of in-game playoff moments, the Vikings need more late-game bombs to Adam Thielen or end zone jump-balls to Kyle Rudolph. It is quintessentially why Minnesota sprung for Cousins and abdicated the Case Keenum path in 2018.