For years Kirk Cousins has delivered for the Minnesota Vikings. Yet, he’s been ridiculed by many fans and observers. Wrongly so. The stats show that Cousins is one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

Munich – At the latest since 2015 and his exclamation: “You like that?” Kirk Cousins is a household name for many NFL fans. At that time, he was still wearing the jersey of the current Washington football team. A lot has happened since then. A move to the Minnesota Vikings followed, where he has been putting up solid numbers for years. In March 2020, he extended his contract by two years. In that time alone, “Captain Kirk” is guaranteed to earn $66 million.

Kirk Cousins is better than he’s made out to be

Despite that, Cousins doesn’t get the credit he should. Even this year, the 33-year-old’s stats read more than solid. In seven games, Cousins threw for just under 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. In his three and a half seasons with the Vikings, he stands at an average quarterback rating of 103.9. In those seasons, he threw a total of 105 touchdowns, while at the same time only allowing himself 31 interceptions. More than solid. Actually, quite good.

Numbers that show that Cousins, purely statistically, is one of the better quarterbacks in the league. One reason “Captain Kirk” flies under the radar in the US and keeps popping up in internet memes is his rather modest record in prime-time games. In games broadcast not only on local television but throughout the US, Cousins has a record of 8-17, delivering sometimes sub-par performances in some of these games.

These apparently stick in people’s minds much longer than the good performances.

3-4 after seven games: At first glance, the start to this season has also been a failure. However, all of the Vikings’ defeats were “one-score games”. So it’s quite possible that the Vikings could be 5-2 or 6-1 if a few plays had gone differently. Still, Minnesota is in second place in the NFL North. So the playoffs are still within reach, and with an offense led by Cousins, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook, they should make the playoffs. And as we all know, anything is possible there.

But for that to happen, they need wins, starting Sunday at the Baltimore Ravens.

Is Mike Zimmer the problem?

Not a few fans in Minnesota, however, think the problem isn’t Cousins, but longtime head coach Mike Zimmer. The relationship between Zimmer and his quarterback is considered strained. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak recently said, “I think we’ve evolved because he (Cousins, ed.) can manage so much. He can probably manage more than we give him.”

Statements that seem to fall on deaf ears, at least with Zimmer.

Even before the season, Cousins and Zimmer disagreed on a vaccination against Covid-19. While Zimmer was absolutely in favour of vaccination, Cousins was much more defensive. Since then, the relationship between the two seems to have taken a definitive hit.

It could be that, depending on how the current season goes, the Vikings are at a crossroads and have to make a decision: Will Cousins remain the designated quarterback for the next few years or will they continue to rely on Mike Zimmer as head coach?

A breath of fresh air at the coaching position could definitely help the Vikings. Possibly more than a new quarterback.