4 takeaways from the play of Kirk Cousins vs. the Bengals in Week 1

Cousins must be more decisive

Blaming the offensive line for false starts is one thing and certainly something the Vikings could do in Week 1. However, another glaring takeaway from the first half was Kirk Cousins’ lack of conviction when it came to going through his reads.

Cousins held onto the football for far too long on occasions. Not exactly the recipe for success given the amount of talent Minnesota has in the passing game.

This indecisiveness might seem like fractions of a second, for the most part. But it allowed the Bengals’ defensive front a little extra time to cause disruption that saw the Vikings fall to a 21-7 deficit they were unable to claw their way back from.

There should be no chemistry problems between Cousins and the likes of Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, or Dalvin Cook. They’ve played with each other long enough now.

Perhaps this is just a Week 1 blip, given their lack of playing time in preseason fixtures. But we thought that during the early part of 2020, and look how that played out.

One thing is for sure, Cousins needs to get the ball out quickly next weekend against the Arizona Cardinals, who boast a formidable defensive front led by the likes of J.J. Watt and Chandler Jones, who gained no fewer than five sacks in his first outing of the season.