Minnesota Vikings: 3 Reasons why Super Bowl 54 is within reach

3. Kirk Cousins is finally putting the pieces together

I’m not sure why it took being called out by teammates, but Kirk Cousins is finally playing like the $28 million-per-year quarterback the Vikings paid him to be.

After an unsurprisingly slow start to the season, Cousins has caught fire in recent weeks. Apart from one letdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, he’s gone 5-1 since flipping some switch at the beginning of October. He’s throwing with more confidence, keeping his cool in the pocket and taking better care of the football.

Despite being without his top receiver Adam Thielen, Cousins has still been killing it. Even if Stefon Diggs is covered and Kyle Rudolph is nowhere to be found, he finds a way to keep the ball moving downfield. He’s gotten secondary receivers like Bisi Johnson and Irv Smith Jr. more involved, and the offense has flourished as a result.

https://twitter.com/PFF_Vikings/status/1194725598490329088

Can we expect this to continue? Vikings fans everywhere are hoping so. Cousins seems like a fickle beast, but it’s also possible the previous kick in the derriere was enough to force some consistency into his game.

As we all know, having at least a decent quarterback is almost a requirement to make it to the Super Bowl in the modern-day NFL. At times last season, Cousins didn’t necessarily fit the bill. As long as there are no sudden regressions, I can say with confidence that Cousins is now capable of carrying that burden.

Earning a playoff spot and advancing to the Super Bowl will take a heroic effort from Cousins. Based on what we’ve seen in the last month and a half, he may actually be up to the challenge.

He did win a prime-time matchup against a quality team, after all!