In Kirk Cousins and Vikings Offense, Zimmer Finally Trusts

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Wow, we just witnessed one of the better regular season Minnesota Vikings games in my life as a fan. Mike Zimmer and Klint Kubiak opened up the offensive throttle yet again and urged Kirk Cousins to use his weapons (especially Justin Jefferson) to beat the Green Bay Packers.

And for the second week in a row, it worked. Even when it didn’t, the purple offense continued to go back to whatever well holds all the world’s Red Bull. They used it to jump out to a 16-3 lead and when Rodgers led the Packers back into the game (just like we knew he would), the Minnesota offense took the football and attacked some more.

Attack, attack, attack.

When it was all over, the Minnesota Vikings stood on top of the Green Bay Packers 34-31 in what looked like a heavyweight NFC title fight. Both QB’s posted over 325 yards and 3 TD’s and Cousins showed the NFL that he can hang with anyone, especially when he has (and trusts) offensive weapons like JJ (169 YDS, 2 TD), Thielen (82 YDS, TD) and Cook (86 RUSH YDS, TD) to work with.

It was an all-out (balanced) assault. Yes, balanced. Cook still got 22 carries and Kubiak went back to him a lot for a back who averaged under 4 yards per carry. But when push came to shove and the Vikings needed to punch the Packers in the face, they put the ball in Kirk Cousins’ hands and told him to throw the ball to Justin Jefferson.

Open, covered or somewhere in-between, throw the ball to JJ.

Keep Rodgers on the sideline

For the second week in a row, the Minnesota Vikings have won close games by making sure their offense was the last one to take the field. Mike Zimmer and Kirk Cousins have realized that giving the ball back to quarterbacks in the NFL with less than two minutes remaining is riskier than staying aggressive on offense and throwing the ball downfield.

We all thought Kirk threw a late interception that would have given the ball back to the Packers needing just a few yards and a field goal for the win. It was a devastating minute in every Viking fan’s life. So when the game resumed and the interception was overturned (dropped), many expected Zimmer to slow things down. Play it safe.

Two weeks ago, he would have. But not the new Mike Zimmer. The new Mike Zimmer trusted Kirk Cousins and his offensive weapons, for the second week in a row, to go win him a football game. Cousins, in-turn, trusted himself and his receivers.

This new Minnesota Vikings team, with this new offensive-minded head coach, can do anything.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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