Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings torched the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, cruising to a 38-20 victory in front of the home crowd.
For Cousins, it was a statement game — a much-needed response to being called out by members of the Eagles defense leading up to Sunday.
On Friday, Eagles linebacker Zach Brown, who played with Cousins in Washington, gave a harsh critique of the Vikings quarterback.
"Cousins, I think every defense is going to want that guy to throw the ball," Brown said, via ESPN's Tim McManus. "For me, that's probably the weakest part of their offense is him. Everything else is good. They've got a good running game, probably one of the best in the league. They have real good receivers. You just want them to pass the ball. You want Kirk Cousins to get it in his hands."
It wasn't the first time Cousins had been called out for his play this year. After a disappointing start to the season, Cousins caught flak from his own receivers, with Adam Thielen intimating that it was Cousins who was holding the team back from success.
Cousins responded after Thielen's critique, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants in Week 5.
On Sunday, Cousins one-upped himself in response to Brown, lighting up the Eagles' secondary for 333 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Cousins was hot from the start but truly hit his stride in the second quarter, seemingly realizing that his receivers could burn the Eagles defense at will.
After the Vikings defense shut down the Eagles on a fourth-down attempt from midfield, Cousins went for it all on their first play with the ball, hitting wide receiver Stefon Diggs in stride for a 51-yard touchdown that extended Minnesota's lead to 24-3.
—Kevin Gray Jr. (@CTSportsRadio) October 13, 2019
In the third quarter, Cousins connected with Diggs yet again. After the Eagles cut the Vikings lead to 24-20, Cousins found Diggs with a perfect ball thrown to the back of the end zone where only he could come down with it.
Diggs tapped his toes down in bounds and gave the Vikings a lead that the Eagles couldn't erase.
—John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 13, 2019
Diggs finished with 167 receiving yards and three touchdowns — a quality day for a star that was reportedly dissatisfied with his role in the offense just a few weeks ago. After the game, Diggs gave credit to Cousins for his performance.
—Jeff Wald (@JeffWaldFox9) October 13, 2019
From the Vikings' official account, the team took a shot at the Eagles, clearly pleased that Cousins made Brown and the Philadelphia defense eat its words.
—Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 13, 2019
It's undeniable that through the first few weeks of the season, Cousins' inconsistent play was a problem. It's also undeniable that through the past two weeks, he's played lights out football, and has the Vikings looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders in an NFC crowded with talent.
The Vikings have another big test coming next week when they travel to Detroit to take on the Lions. After his performance on Sunday, chances are Matt Patricia and the Lions defense don't underestimate Cousins' ability.
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