Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins faces his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, on Sunday with the winner of the offseason move still in doubt.
When the Atlanta Falcons visit the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14, it will help answer a $180 million question—at least for a week.
Which team really won the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes last spring? The Vikings (10–2) lost the four-time Pro Bowl quarterback in free agency to the Falcons (6–6), who signed him to a four-year,
$180 million deal in March. Minnesota meanwhile brought in two quarterbacks, Sam Darnold and rookie J.J. McCarthy, plus a plethora of free agents with freed-up salary cap space.
“It worked out for both,” Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson
told reporters on Thursday. “We’re 10–2 and we have a new quarterback that we’re confident in and somebody that is a leader and can fill that spot.”
Results from the first
three-quarters of the season show the Falcons leading the NFC South and the Vikings pushing for a high Wild Card playoff spot. Now, Cousins will return to U.S. Bank Stadium to face a Vikings team that has matched his best start to a season in the win-loss columns without him, but the former Michigan State standout focused on gratitude for his time there when he spole with the media.
“When I arrived there as a free agent, they took a chance on me,” Cousins
said on Thursday. “Ownership took a chance. The organization did. I think, too, of so many teammates who gave so much to help me and coaches who gave so much to help me.”
“The support staff—from nutrition, weight room, equipment, and training crew—they really got me through my Achilles tear and were just on it the moment I tore it until I left in free agency,” he said.
Minnesota suffered another
quarterback injury in training camp with McCarthy’s season-ending meniscus surgery, but Darnold stepped up and changed the narrative of his generally lackluster career as a former No. 3 pick and three different teams in six years. Darnold has
enjoyed a career year with the Vikings amid a 67.6 percent completion rate for 2,952 yards and 23 touchdowns versus 10 interceptions for a 102.5 passer rating.
Cousins
hasn’t produced at the same level in Atlanta as he did in his previous career years with the Vikings. He has a 67.4 percent completion rate for 3,052 yards and 17 touchdowns versus 13 picks for a 90.8 passer rating.
“Kirk’s going to keep swinging,” Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson
told reporters on Thursday. “He’s going to keep shooting, and he’s just going to get back at it and get back to work, which is exactly what he’s done. I haven’t felt anything different with Kirk. He’s the same guy every single day, so he'll bounce back. We know he will.”
Cousins is also trying to break the Falcons out of a three-game losing streak against a team that knows him better than anyone else in the league. Cousins played for the Vikings from 2018 to 2023 after signing an
$84 million deal after the 2017 season when the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game.
“I know the kind of narrative is he had a tough game last week, but he’s played some good football. I think the people in this building know what Kirk can do. I mean, he’s a very, very good quarterback,” Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores
told reporters on Tuesday. “This is going to be a major challenge... They’ve got a good offense.”
“Kirk’s playing well. He’s a bounce-back type of guy. As we all know. I’m expecting his best. The best version of Kirk, the best version of that offense. It’s going to be a major challenge for us and we’re going to have to prepare the right way to have success against this group,” Flores added.
Cousins put up big numbers in Minnesota amid a 67.9 percent completion rate for 23,265 yards and 171 touchdowns versus 55 interceptions for a 101.2 rating. However, Cousins led the Vikings to only o
ne playoff win and one
NFC North division title.
Atlanta, meanwhile, needed a viable quarterback to get back on track after six straight losing seasons. The Falcons stockpiled offensive talent along the way through the draft with wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts, and running back Bijan Robinson. That gave Cousins a lot to work with this year.
“He’s done a great job with us, and I have no real qualms about him bouncing back and him being able to play the game the way it needs to be done,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris
told reporters regarding Cousins on Wednesday.
“He’s still an elite processor,” Morris added. “He has the ability to make all the throws. He’s shown that throughout the year.”
Win or lose on Sunday, the Falcons are in a dogfight for the NFC South title, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lurking right behind at 6–6. The Falcons hold the current tiebreaker with a season sweep of the Buccaneers, the three-time defending NFC South champions.
Minnesota, meanwhile, has much at stake on Sunday with an outside chance to catch the Detroit Lions (12–1) for the NFC North title and the conference’s No. 1 seed. The Vikings face the Lions in the regular season finale on Jan. 5.
Cousins understands the Vikings’ importance of home-field advantage, and he expects a challenge on the other side this time around.
“They’re great football fans,” Cousins said. “I would think, as a result, they'll make it as hostile as they can for us.”
