Minnesota Vikings: 3 Bold predictions vs. Raiders, Week 3
3. Cousins will have a bounce-back game
The first bold prediction as the Minnesota Vikings open up play in Week 3 of the regular season on Sunday afternoon at US Bank Stadium is that veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins will have a bounce-back performance to help pace the Vikings on the offense end of the field.
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Through two weeks in the regular season, Cousins hasn’t looked that great within the Minnesota offense. Part of that is due to the early success of the running game and specifically with running back Dalvin Cook, who has put together two really solid performances in the first couple of weeks of the regular season for the Vikings.
In the Week 2 loss in Green Bay, Cousins finished with a total of 230 yards passing while converting on just 14 of his 32 pass attempts. With one touchdown pass, he also threw two costly interceptions and was sacked once.
Cousins has the ability to display his dominance and talent on offense and will have an opportunity to do so on Sunday in the Week 3 matchup against the Raiders.
Last week against a very potent Kansas City Chiefs offense, Oakland allowed Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to tally 433 yards passing through the air with four touchdowns. Mahomes ended up converting on 30 of his 44 pass attempts against the Raiders defense.
Going back to as far as Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, a game which Oakland won 24-16, the Raiders gave up a total of 249 yards passing and one touchdown to Denver quarterback Joe Flacco, who went 21-of-31 behind center in the loss.
Coming into the Week 3 contest in Minneapolis, Cousins will keep the trend of quarterbacks having success in the passing game against the Raiders defense, resulting in a much-needed bounce-back game for the $84 million Vikings quarterback.