Minnesota Vikings Game Ball: Week 6

We’re getting close to being done wrapping up the Minnesota Vikings’ 38-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles from this past Sunday, but we still need to decide who gets the Game Ball for the big win. We’ve got some pretty solid choices this week, so let’s get right to them.

Kirk Cousins, QB - Yes, for the second week in a row, he’s on here, and with good reason. Cousins had what might have been his best game as a member of the Vikings on Sunday, completing 22-of-29 passes for 333 yards and four touchdown passes. Sure, he did throw his third interception of the year, but that really wasn’t his fault. The Eagles’ secondary is pretty terrible, and Cousins did what good quarterbacks should do to bad secondaries by shredding them for four quarters.

Stefon Diggs, WR - On Sunday, Diggs really looked like a guy that wanted out of Minnesota, didn’t he? He had the first three-touchdown game for a Vikings receiver since Marcus Robinson pulled it off in a 2005 victory over the Cleveland Browns, and on his two long touchdown passes (a 62-yarder and a 51-yarder on consecutive offensive plays), he was wide open. His third touchdown catch, though shorter than the other two, may have been the most impressive in terms of body control and getting his feet down. All in all, a pretty solid day for #14.

Everson Griffen, DE - Danielle Hunter has gotten the bulk of the attention this season, and with good reason, but Griffen has been outstanding as well and I wanted to give him some recognition here. On Sunday, he was a constant thorn in the side of the Eagles, including destroying rookie offensive tackle Andre Dillard from the first snap after he came in due to an injury to Jason Peters. He also came up with an interception on the botched fake field goal by the Eagles, which was pretty cool.

Eric Kendricks, LB - I haven’t seen a lot of games outside of those played by the Vikings this year, but it’s hard for me to imagine that there are a lot of linebackers out there that are having a better season than Kendricks is having so far. In every game this year, he’s been everywhere, and the game against Philadelphia is was no exception. He forced a fumble that was recovered by the Vikings, nearly had an interception on an incredibly athletic play, and blew up a screen to Alshon Jeffery on a third-and-short that squelched Philadelphia’s offensive momentum at just the right time.

Alexander Mattison, RB - Another guy that deserves to get a little bit of recognition here, it was actually Mattison (and not Dalvin Cook) who led the Vikings in rushing on Sunday. Yes, he had a fumble at the end of the game, but the Vikings were up by 18 points and they were just trying to kill the clock. A lot of people panned the Vikings for selecting Mattison in this year’s NFL Draft, but he’s turning out to be a very solid complement to Cook thus far.

Those are the players I have, ladies and gentlemen. If you have another player that you think was slighted, feel free to put them in the comments section.

Week 1 - Anthony Harris, S

Week 2 - Dalvin Cook, RB

Week 3 - Dalvin Cook, RB

Week 4 - Nobody (because everyone was awful)

Week 5 - Kirk Cousins, QB