It’s easy to see a defense-first team and say, “if only they had a quarterback.” It’s much harder to actually get that quarterback, and virtually impossible during the season.
The Vikings might have actually done it, though. After incompetent quarterback play began to overshadow a stellar defense, Minnesota went out and brought back Kirk Cousins to take over at the position.
Just days after the deal, Cousins showed why it was the best move possible for the Vikings.
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Kirk Cousins proves Vikings made right QB choice
The Vikings were never looking for Cousins to be a savior. With Brian Flores leading one of the NFL’s strongest defenses, if not the strongest, competent quarterback play should be enough for Minnesota to win plenty of games and go to the playoffs, even if winning a Super Bowl with Cousins is unlikely.
After Carson Wentz faceplanted against the Bills on Monday, competence returned on Sunday. Cousins gave the Vikings a steady hand in a tough environment, even without his numbers jumping off the page. Minnesota’s offense was imperfect but much-improved, even without Jordan Addison.
Most importantly, Cousins targeted Justin Jefferson. Jefferson looked a bit more like himself with 84 yards on nine catches and 13 targets, the latter two of which were both season-highs. At the very least, the Vikings trading for Cousins signaled to Jefferson that they aren’t content to just let him become irrelevant after his usage with Wentz and Kyler Murray raised eyebrows.
When the Vikings needed him to extend drives on Sunday, Cousins did just that. The Packers‘ comeback effort might have been successful if the offense kept giving opportunities to Jordan Love and the Green Bay offense. Instead, Cousins extended drives in the fourth quarter and kept the ball out of Love’s hands. That, of course, also helps to keep the Vikings’ defense fresh after it understandably wore down against the Bills.
In their first game with Kirk Cousins, the #Vikings already have their second-highest point total of the season. https://t.co/KLNGNrD5wo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 15, 2026
Cousins has only played one game with the Vikings after the trade, but don’t underestimate the importance of just this one: by winning, Minnesota now has a 1.5-game advantage and a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Packers in the event a wild-card spot or even a division title comes down to it.
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Kirk Cousins stats vs. Packers
Here’s how Cousins performed in his first start as a Viking in more than three years:
- Comp-att: 21-31
- Pass Yards: 207
- TD: 2
- INT: 1
- Rush att: 3
- Rush yards: 11
- Rush TD: 0
- Passer rating: 94.4
The veteran quarterback finished 21-of-31 for 207 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the win, leading the Vikings to their highest-scoring game since Week 1. Cousins’ 22 touchdown passes this season rank second to only Joe Burrow.
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