Minnesota Vikings: 3 Observations on season at Week 12 bye

2. Kirk Cousins has been outstanding

Kirk Cousins, who often gets tagged with criticism while many view the veteran quarterback as a player that doesn’t quite live up to the hype and the contract he currently obtains, has taken a nice step in the right direction so far in 2019 and has helped propel this Minnesota offense en route to an 8-3 start to the year.

Cousins, who is in his eighth season in the NFL and second year with the Vikings after signing with the team as a free agent prior to the 2018 campaign, has tallied 2,756 yards through the air this season along with 21 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Along with converting on 226 of his overall 320 pass attempts to grab a completion percentage of 70.6 percent in 11 games, Cousins is averaging 8.6 yards per pass which is a career-best mark for the quarterback.

Among other quarterbacks in the NFL, Cousins ranks fifth in the league in total passing yards to this point in the year, while also ranking tied for second in touchdown passes, eighth in completions, 14th in total pass attempts and 17th in yards passing per game (250.5).

During the Vikings’ last seven games, which has resulted in the team going 6-1 during that span, Cousins has taken another step in helping lead the Minnesota offensive unit, opening up things in the passing attack that has made this team an impressive and dangerous one within the league.

If the Vikings and Cousins are able to get everyone back to being healthy on offense during the bye week this weekend, especially getting Adam Thielen back from his hamstring injury, the quarterback and this Minnesota offense will continue to thrive heading towards the postseason at the end of the year.