Eagles opponent Jalen Hurts shone as Cousins and the Vikings stumbled in the second half, totaling three TDs as Philadelphia extended their 24-7 lead. It resulted in just five Minnesota rushing plays in the second half.
“I think that when we went behind early on, we probably had to throw a little more than we wanted and didn’t stay as balanced as we’d like,” Cousins said, “and that’s probably more in the nature of the.” It’s a matter of how the game went and we definitely want to be as balanced as possible.”
Cousins was terrorized by Darius Slay in the second half when the Eagles cornerback covered standout Vikings Justin Jefferson and had two picks. And while the first-half deficit might well have dictated the pass-heavy approach of the second, the Cousins-led offense was almost as woeful in the first 30 minutes of play. The Vikings started the game with consecutive threes and outs and ended the first half with two more.
“Part of the challenge is that we didn’t stay on the field, we didn’t play enough games and so we don’t want to start those three-and-outs early,” Cousins said.
As the Vikings offense progressed from a balanced approach that produced three-and-outs to a passing frenzy that resulted in interceptions, the Eagles defense deployed behind Cousins throughout the game.
Cousins was pressured on 33.3% of his dropbacks and fired twice, according to Next Gen Stats. He was under pressure 6 of 14 for just 51 yards, a TD and two interceptions.
“I think their defense deserves credit,” said Cousins, “they did a good job with rush and cover and the combination made it difficult for us.”
Cousins’ three interceptions gave him 11 since 2015 on Monday, which is the most in the league, according to NFL Research.
Whether it was the pressure of the bright lights or the Eagles’ defense, Cousins wriggled in familiar fashion while the whole world watched.