Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson duo leading change in ‘Vikings' narrative

By Carmen Vitali
Published

It was in a losing effort, but that didn't make what Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson did on Sunday any less impressive.

Jefferson set a new personal single-game record with 223 receiving yards on 11 catches. It's the most of any player in a game this season and was Jefferson's eighth game of 100 receiving yards or more. That's also the most in the NFL this year, in case you were wondering. Davante Adams has seven. Tyreek Hill has six. 

As a result, probably unsurprisingly, Jefferson has the most receiving yards in the league 2022, surpassing Hill after this latest performance to accumulate 1,500 on the dot heading into Week 15. He has the second-most receptions of any player as well, amassing those aforementioned yards on 99 catches.

He probably means more to his team than any single player that's not a quarterback as the Vikings sit at 10-3 on the season and have all but locked up their division. Their defense has been struggling, having given up over 400 yards of offense to opponents over the past five games, but the offense has kept pace, and it has everything to do with Jefferson.

The third-year receiver is responsible for 43.75% of Minnesota's air yards, according to NFL's Next Gen Stats, which is the third-biggest share of any single player. You'd almost think it should be more given how much production Jefferson has had this season, but there are indeed more players on the Vikings' offense and one guy dealing the football to them.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins has been on a tear of his own this season, which was on display Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Cousins completed 31 of 41 pass attempts for 425 yards and two touchdowns. That's the fourth-most yards of his career and his most since September 16, 2018 against the Packers. Since 2015, Cousins has 41 games of 300 yards or more, which is the third-most in that span behind just Tom Brady and Matt Ryan.

"Yeah, I thought he was attempting to will our football team to a victory," head coach Kevin O'Connell said about Cousins' performance. "Both with his execution level to Justin (Jefferson), Justin's adjustments he made since the last time he played against these guys. I thought he played incredibly fast and explosive and Kirk was right there with him every step of the way."

Cousins did it without 2/5ths of his offensive line, as well. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw was out again as he's eased back following a concussion. Cousins' center, Garrett Bradbury, was also unable to go. Yet, Cousins was able to connect on six passes of 20 or more yards, four of which went to Jefferson.

There was one in particular that perfectly encapsulated their connection, and it happened to be the longest play of the day for Minnesota. It was first-and-10 when the Vikings had gotten the ball back in the fourth quarter after Detroit scored their fourth touchdown of the day, going up by 15 points. Minnesota needed an answer and Jefferson picked up the phone. Cousins launched it from the Vikings' 25-yard line with the ball traveling 34 air yards before landing in Jefferson's hands. He took it 13 more yards for a total gain of 47 yards.

"I think he is just as talented as anybody I have ever been around," said O'Connell of Jefferson. "And then he's an ultimate, ultimate competitor. Had a great week of preparation, he was dialed in from the jump. And then ultimately just trying to do whatever he could to make the plays required."

It's hard to wrap your head around the fact that Jefferson is just 23 years old and that he's now helping an 11-year vet enjoy one of the best seasons of his career. Cousins is on pace for 4,391 passing yards, which would be the second-highest total he's ever had in a single season. 

Combined, the pair is leading Minnesota on an unprecedented season in which they jumped out to their best start in five years. They're also helping change "the Vikings" narrative so that perhaps it doesn't have as much of a negative connotation and instead, is synonymous with finding ways to win by any means necessary. A connotation that can now survive a singular loss to a streaking team. Minnesota hasn't lost back-to-back games yet this season, and they'll have a chance to bounce back against the Colts this Saturday.

"Really looking up at the scoreboard, that's one thing, but all I know is that this team feels like as long as we give ourselves a chance, we are going to find a way," O'Connell said. "And we just didn't have enough, and couldn't quite get that rock back with enough time to make it what we had hoped. But tons of credit to Justin and Kirk for how they executed."

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Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.