Kirk Cousins Weekly Review: Week 1 vs. the Green Bay Packers
By Dustin Baker
High No. 2
Scrambling Kirk!
If you polled a large segment of the Minnesota fanbase, this is the single-most exciting takeaway from the entire game against Green Bay.
For the better part of two seasons, Vikings faithful have clamored for a version of Kirk Cousins that would improvise, tuck the ball, scamper, and pick up first downs. Every now and then since 2018, Cousins has teased this talent, but he verifiably showed this asset in Week 1.
On about four occasions, Cousins elected to run the football when his pocket was rendered nefarious. Last season, he tended to tippy-toe briefly in the pocket and fall to the ground while securing the football. This time, he unsheathed some nifty gyrations and made the most of otherwise doomed plays.
Until last week, the frustrating part was that Cousins is a respectable athlete and he can indeed make such plays. He did so with frequency in Washington from 2015 to 2017. It’s as if offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak said something to the effect of, “I saw what you did on tape with Jay Gruden and your feet — do that here, please.”
Cousins did just that, and the excitement meter for his pocket escapability has escalated.