Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer gathered his team in the locker room, victors for the first time this season and ready to celebrate a 30-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks, the franchise’s first meaningful triumph since Week 13 last year. He told them that this had been the most impressive offensive performance since he took over eight years ago.
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As he spoke, Mark and Zygi Wilf stood behind the coach. Zygi had been at practice this week, an infrequent occurrence that could’ve raised eyebrows about Zimmer’s status had the Vikings started 0-3.
Instead, the co-owners were celebrating the franchise’s first win over the Seahawks since 2009, and, more importantly, an apparent blueprint that Zimmer’s squad hopes to lean on the rest of the way as the Vikings try to overcome an 0-2 start to the season.
A month ago, the team’s plan seemed to surround a defense with lofty expectations and an offense they hoped would be a fringe top-10 unit. Instead, three weeks in, that plan is flipped. If September was any indication, the Vikings have a potent offense led by a resurgent quarterback putting up MVP-level numbers.
For the second consecutive week, Kirk Cousins outplayed his quarterback counterpart who arrived with loftier expectations. He was 30-for-38 passing for 323 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday. On the season, he’s averaging more than 300 yards per game with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. If Dalvin Cook hadn’t fumbled in the first game and if Greg Joseph had made his short field goal attempt in the second, the Vikings would be 3-0 and Cousins would be the talk of the league.
“It’s been a different Kirk,” said Adam Thielen, who hauled in his fourth touchdown of the young season. “He’s just locked in and on time. He’s trusting it.”
Perhaps there was too much optimism surrounding the Vikings defense, which struggled against Arizona last week and allowed 17 first-half points to the Seahawks before notching a second-half shutout, helped in part by the Seahawks only having three real drives in that span. But if that’s the case, then not enough was made about this offense.
Turns out, Klint Kubiak is more than capable of game planning and sticking to a script. The running game is still really good. The receiving duo is great. And then there’s Cousins, who is quietly putting up numbers that rival the best in the league.
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Cousins has had stretches like this before (typically in October), but never one like this to open a season. His play is helping the Vikings become what they hoped they could be on offense.
They may have overestimated what they can do with a rebuilt defense. We’ll see. That part will be decided in the weeks to come.
But the early results indicate they were right about Cousins overcoming an offensive line that struggled a year ago and lost its best player. They were right that he does have another level to his play.
“I think he’s playing outstanding,” Zimmer said. “But not only that, he’s playing with a lot of confidence. I really appreciate the leadership … lately. It’s been so much better, something he wanted to work on. He’s done a great job with that. He’s very confident where he’s throwing the football. He’s very confident with these receivers. I think the offensive line has helped him do some of those things, as well.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of the Vikings’ offensive performance was that it came without their star running back, who Zimmer only a few days earlier declared was the engine that made the unit run. But Cook knew by Saturday evening that he wasn’t going to be able to play on his sprained ankle, so the Vikings turned to Alexander Mattison, who delivered a Cook-like performance, finishing with 171 yards of offense on 32 touches.
Mattison lauded Cousins by declaring that he’s playing with “a little more swag” this season. So what, exactly, does Cousins’ swag look like?
“Kyle Shanahan used to say that my swag was having no swag,” Cousins said. “He told me as a rookie to never change. When I came out for my first preseason game, he said my jersey looked so big it looked like I was wearing a Halloween costume. Someone said something about, ‘You should get a different facemask and a better jersey and this or that, wear your socks different,’ and Kyle cut him off and said, ‘No, his swag is having no swag.’ I like it that way. I kind of laugh because there’s a hint of truth in the joke.”
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The Vikings offense isn’t a finished product, of course. They could probably stand to get Justin Jefferson more touches. They’ll get a boost when Cook returns. And it seems to be the case that Cousins wants a bit more say in the play calls, including potentially running more play action.
“I think it’s something we’ll talk about,” Cousins said. “I would agree with you that I think it’s something we can do more of. It’s hard to argue with production, but I do think there’s a place to play action, for sure.”
That’s a conversation for another time. For now, it’s worth acknowledging that the Vikings might have their best offense of the Zimmer era. For one day at least, they had a prolific performance, according to the head coach.
In front of the team’s co-owners, Zimmer touted how far that unit has come. It was an important time for a big game considering all that’s on the line this season. But it might have been important, too, for the blueprint it revealed. After ups and downs the first three seasons, Cousins is playing at a level where he’s elevating those around him.
“He just has no fear,” Thielen said. “He’s not worried about anything other than going out there and doing his job. I think he’s a guy who now is able to be in the third year of this system and be around a lot of us players, and he just kind of trusts us and trusts the system.”
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)
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