Kirk Cousins Weekly Report Card: Week 4 vs. the Texans
By Dustin Baker
How should Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins be graded after Week 4?
The perception of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins‘ abilities indeed changes the week after a win, doesn’t it? The “Trade him!” and “Tank for Trevor!” venom has subsided, if only for a week.
The Vikings journeyed to face the Houston Texans in Week 4 and they left NRG Stadium with a 31-23 victory. It marked the first win of the season for Minnesota, an accomplishment of dire necessity because the franchise was forecasted to be an at-least-nine-win team by most fans and oddsmakers. Before last Sunday, the Vikings had lost each of their first three games of the 2020 season.
On the whole, Minnesota was more competent in virtually every aspect of the game. The defense was average — an improvement from the dastardly play exhibited in Weeks 1 and 2.
However, any Mike Zimmer-led defense that does not execute at a near-elite level is going to be panned as “bad”. Zimmer has set the bar for himself extraordinarily high, so any performance that lags on that measuring stick is labeled as not-so-good.
Pretend Patrick Mahomes started four weeks into a season with a passer rating in the 80-range. This would be labeled as, “the Chiefs aren’t helping Mahomes” or “a shaky start for Boy Wonder.”
When Zimmer doesn’t put forth a product that’s immediately top-10 worthy, the pitchfork people arrive with veins bulging. It’s a double-standard paradise.
As for Cousins, he was quite effective in Week 4. That’s probably why the Vikings exited early-season “Loserville”.
Let’s take out the red pen now though and evaluate the quarterback’s most recent performance.