Introducing one of the worst Kirk Cousins takes of all time

Despite throwing for 460 yards and four touchdowns in a win over the Indianapolis Colts, some still don’t believe Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins played well in Week 15.

After Greg Joseph knocked down a 40-yard game-winning field goal this past Saturday, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins walked off the field with a stat sheet that featured 460 passing yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 99.3 passer rating.

Cousins’ 460 yards through the air set a new single-game career-high for the veteran quarterback and his four touchdown passes also tied a single-game career-high. Only Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow have thrown for more yards in one contest this year than the amount that the Vikings quarterback finished with this past Saturday.

Despite his monster numbers against the Colts, there’s at least one person who doesn’t believe Cousins didn’t do a whole lot to help Minnesota complete their miraculous comeback.

PFF not impressed with Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins in Week 15 vs. the Indianapolis Colts

Most would likely look back at Cousins throwing for 460 yards and four touchdowns and reach the conclusion that he had an impressive afternoon out on the field against Indianapolis. Well, PFF’s Sam Monson is not among those who would agree with this conclusion.

During a recent episode of the “PFF NFL Podcast“, Monson had the following to say about Cousins’ Week 15 performance.

"“People are complaining about Kirk Cousins’ [PFF grade] in this game. Cousins didn’t do that much in this game. Like he didn’t start driving this comeback with a bunch of big-time throws and amazing play and stuff.”"

Monson went on to give examples of Dalvin Cook having 99 yards after the catch against the Colts and Justin Jefferson running an immaculate route on his touchdown reception for why Cousins’ shouldn’t be praised for his performance in Week 15.

The PFF analyst summed up what the Minnesota quarterback did out on the field against Indianapolis as “high volume, average play.”

PFF ended up giving Cousins an overall offensive grade of 57.4 for Week 15, which was notably lower than a number of lesser-talented passers around the NFL, including Mac Jones, Brett Rypien, and Zach Wilson.

There have been plenty of times in the past when PFF grades didn’t exactly fit the results out on the field. But the Week 15 grade for Cousins, as well as the take from Monson, just seems insanely bonkers.

To be fair to Cousins’ critics in the national media, he had never been the starting quarterback for an 11-win team before the 2022 season. So they’re probably still not used to a team actually having success with the veteran signal-caller starting under center.

At the same time, past narratives shouldn’t prevent Cousins from earning the proper credit he deserves after finishing a game with 460 passing yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, it seems like they are.