Kirk Cousins leads the Vikings to their first win of the 2021 season

With no Dalvin Cook on the field due to injury, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins stepped up his play and led the team to a big win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

If the playoffs were still going to be in the plans for the Minnesota Vikings this season, they were going to need to get a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

To make the task even more difficult, the Vikings would have to try and beat the Seahawks without running back Dalvin Cook, who wasn’t able to suit up due to an ankle injury.

Despite not having Cook in the lineup, Minnesota made their home fans proud and found a way to get a much-needed win over Seattle on Sunday. Thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Kirk Cousins, the Vikings were able to walk off the field in U.S. Bank Stadium with a 1-2 record after defeating the Seahawks by a final score of 30-17.

Minnesota Vikings save their season with Week 3 win over Seattle Seahawks

To some, Minnesota’s win might not seem like it would make a big difference in their chances to make the playoffs this year. But the Vikings’ shot to make the postseason just increased tremendously.

Since 1970, 109 teams in the NFL have gone on to make the playoffs after starting their season with a 1-2 record. Had Minnesota lost on Sunday and saw their record drop to 0-3, they would’ve had to attempt to become just the seventh team in league history to earn a spot in the postseason after beginning the year with an 0-3 record.

Early in Sunday’s matchup, it seemed like the Vikings were headed towards another disappointing loss as their defense couldn’t figure out how to stop Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense.

But after the Seahawks scored a touchdown with about 11 minutes left in the second quarter to go up 17-7, they didn’t score a single point for the remainder of the game. That’s when Cousins and Minnesota’s offense took over and put up 23 unanswered points.

Cousins had himself a very impressive game as he completed 78.9 percent of his passes for 323 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions to result in a 128.4 passer rating. The Minnesota quarterback has now thrown 32 touchdowns and just three interceptions in his last 13 regular-season games dating back to the 2020 campaign.

The Vikings also got a nice performance from running back Alexander Mattison on Sunday to help make up for the loss of Cook. Mattison ended up finishing with 112 rushing yards on 26 carries in addition to catching six passes for 59 yards.

Minnesota will attempt to get their second win of the season next Sunday inside U.S. Bank Stadium when former Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns come to the Twin Cities.