Week 14 was certainly going to be an emotional one for many involved in this matchup. The Minnesota Vikings hosted the Atlanta Falcons and welcomed their former starting quarterback into U.S. Bank Stadium for the first time since leaving the Twin Cities.
Kirk Cousins found himself amid a terrible stretch, with the Falcons losing three in a row and having not thrown a single touchdown pass in those games. In fact, Cousins had thrown six interceptions in addition to zero scores through the air.
Surely, a return to Minnesota would help Cousins at least get back to playing better football. After all, Cousins would be playing in a very familiar place and in front of familiar faces.
Among those faces in the stands yesterday, though, were some fans who decided to take the humorous route when welcoming Cousins back to Minnesota. One fan was spotted holding up a sign that read:
"We'll never forget you Curt."
What's even more funny about the situation is reading some of the responses which include reminiscing over when fans did this very same thing to Brett Favre, misspelling his name and poking fun.
Speaking of "fun," it didn't stop there.
Kirk Cousins did the most Kirk Cousins thing ever after the live broadcast attempted to shed light on the situation
To stay on course with the misspelling of Cousins' name, the live television broadcast, at one point, panned over to a fan in the stands who was holding up a sweatshirt that read "We'll never forget you Kurt."
That moment on the live broadcast was immediately followed by a Cousins interception, believe it or not.
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That would end up being one of eight Cousins interceptions thrown over his past four games, continuing an alarming stretch for the veteran quarterback. Cousins has now gone four games without throwing a touchdown as well -- all of those games have been losses.
On the flip side. first-year Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is doing everything he can to warrant another contract in Minnesota. Despite J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wing, Darnold has mostly been playing out of his mind in his first season with the Vikes.
His five-touchdown performance against the Falcons would go down as a career-best for the former first-round pick out of USC.
What Darnold has done under head coach Kevin O'Connell is nothing short of impressive. He's had some ups and downs, this year, but Darnold is proving he is well-worth the investment even beyond what was supposed to be a bridge year.
Back to Cousins ... some Falcons fans are now calling for rookie Michael Penix Jr. It's been quite the downfall for the former Viking. Needless to say, Minnesota fans are relishing in the fact that the Vikings did the right thing this past offseason.