Kirk Cousins Regrets Cautious Red Zone Decisions vs Saints

The Kirk Cousins’ War is raging across the Minnesota Vikings’ fanbase once again. It isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. Yes, the purple grabbed another bumpy win in week 4 (vs the New Orleans Saints) and moved to 3-1 on the season.

But there are media members and fans across Vikings nation who believe Kirk Cousins is leaving meat on the passing game bone, especially in the red zone. That he’s choosing dump down routes, early in his progressions, instead of daggering defenses for touchdowns.

The 3rd-and-1 play before halftime merits further scrutiny. Cousins said his instinct was to throw to Johnny Mundt, who was open for a first down. Mundt dropped the ball. Sunday and Monday, Kevin O'Connell noted that Adam Thielen was also an option. pic.twitter.com/k6YnEmaSZb

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 4, 2022

Kirk please pic.twitter.com/7G5Tv3EaPJ

— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) October 4, 2022

Kirk Defenders Charge In

As expected, Kirk’s defenders have come out IN VOLUME. Go ahead and peak into those replies. Lots of — “Oh, could you make that throw?” — energy. And — “Oh, it’s easy when you slow it down and re-watch it 200 times” — vibes.

No, Kevin Siefert (ESPN) probably doesn’t think he could play quarterback in the NFL. He is, however, paid to report on and critique Cousins’ play on the football field. Even if he wasn’t, it’s not illegal to have a Kirk Cousins take. That’s part of being a fan. Part of being a sports media member. And yes, we all break sports down in replay form. Just like Cousins and the Vikings do. It’s a great way to figure out what went wrong.

And nobody critiques Kirk Cousins more than Kirk Cousins. Right after the game, when asked about red zone woes on Sunday morning in London, Kirk was blunt about his regret over being too cautious early in his reads.

Hey look, we can stop fighting about Kirk Cousins now. If he regrets being too cautious in the red zone then he was probably too cautious in the red zone. pic.twitter.com/lPl9Glss7Q

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 5, 2022

Oh my god just saw the full quote lol. I 100% agree with him here and tbh cool to see him acknowledge/explain it a little.

Meanwhile Cousins Stans will call you names if you agree with him pic.twitter.com/kYFswOHex4

— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) October 5, 2022

Kirk Needs to be Better

There’s a reason why the Minnesota Vikings offense isn’t humming along like many of us thought it would. Not all of that is because of Kirk Cousins. But as QB, he is the one person on roster who can carry a football team to greater heights.

We have plenty of statistical evidence that point out Kirk’s sub-par play, too. Through four games, Cousins is posting career lows (as a starter) in completion percentage (63.1%), TD/INT ratio (3/2), yards/attempt (6.6), adjusted yards/attempt (6.2), QB Rating (84.1) and QBR (45.7).

If he reads the field properly and makes accurate throws, the Vikings will usually win. We know that, he knows that, Kevin O’Connell knows that. So, debate over. Kirk needs to be better.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan