MINNEAPOLIS — This season seemed different for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. His team won 13 regular season games, by far the most in his career. In Kevin O’Connell, he bonded with a coach who trusted him to throw more passes than ever, with less schematic guard rails than ever.
In the end, however, Cousins found themselves in a familiar position Sunday at US Bank Stadium: going home to the offseason without a playoff win. The Vikings’ 24-31 loss to the New York Giants was his third loss in four postseason games of his career, and it’s one he said caused a new level of pain.
“It hurts,” Cousins said. “It hurts. I’ll probably miss one, but it’s probably the hardest loss I’ve had in my career.”
When asked why, he initially said, “All the obvious reasons.”
Cousins later elaborated a bit, citing the Vikings’ regular-season success and the possibility that some outstanding free agents — including center Garrett Bradbury and Stau Alexander Mattison — could depart in the offseason.
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“Thirteen wins, I’ve never really smelled that,” said Cousins. “And just the fact that the group, the Garretts and the Alexes, who are … free agents who are guaranteed not to come back, I find it difficult to leave the field.”
In a way, Cousins put together his best game of the season on Sunday. He completed 31 of 39 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a third and compiled his best overall QBR of the season (85.2).
Overall, he had an odd year in his first season at O’Connell. On the one hand, he threw a career-high 14 interceptions and finished with a career-low QBR of 49.8. On the other hand, he led eight fourth-quarter comebacks under the Vikings’ NFL-record 11 one-score wins, and he had another chance against the Giants on Sunday.
But the game essentially ended when Cousins threw short of the sticks to tight end TJ Hockenson in fourth and eighth near midfield. Giants safety Xavier McKinney tackled Hockenson after a 3-yard gain with 1:44 left.
When asked about the decision to throw Hockenson to Justin Jefferson or some other vertical threat instead of receiver, Cousins said, “There was just one shell to read. Saw single high. Tried to work Justin Then when I went to progress I felt like I was going to be fired and I felt like I had to put the ball in play. I can’t go down with a sack so I figured I’d kick it out to TJ
“I’d gone short on a few different occasions in the game and even gone back a few weeks and just felt like going short wasn’t the end of the world. It was obviously tight coverage, so he didn’t get a chance to pull away. I figured I’d go down and grab a sack if I can’t muster it.”
O’Connell admitted that afterward he reached out to Cousins to understand why he had made that pitch, and the trainer said, “I could have done a better job at the moment.”
O’Connell said he would have preferred a downfield throw but didn’t want to burden Cousins with instructions before the snap.
“The intent as a playcaller is that you’re not going to name a primary concept that someone is short of sticks on, especially if it’s in fourth place,” O’Connell said. “Looking back, maybe I could have said a little more, ‘Hey, let the ball go here.’ But I want Kirk to be able to play and be free out there to make good decisions, which is what he’s been doing all night.
“In the end, I see it like this playcall is on me as well, even though we had it [eligible receivers] with possibility [to get] maybe in the field. There’s always something that could be better.”