Sunday’s Best

Victory Mondays are the best. I don’t care if they win by 1 or by 50. A win is a win, and the Vikings are 2-0 in the NFCN. Let’s keep it rolling against that terrible team from New Orleans.

Kirk Cousins

Kirk wasn’t great the entire game, but he was when the team needed him. The first half, especially the first quarter was rough. The offense wasn’t moving, Kirk wasn’t sharp, and he wasn’t getting much help from the receiving corps. The second half didn’t start much better. Kirk seemed to get it going with around 10 minutes left in the 4^th quarter to pull the team within 3. It wasn’t smooth sailing from there (turnover on downs the next drive), but it was enough to beat the Lions. Kirk came through with 1:10 left in the game and it was 100% Kirk to KJ for the 56-yard game winning drive.

KJ Osborn

One of the hardest things to do as a player is stay focused when the action isn’t coming your way. It is the reason top receivers struggle when they’re no longer the big guy. KJ has seen most of the throws go the way of Jefferson, Thielen and the TEs. He kept digging on Sunday. His back-to-back 28-yard receptions on the game winning drive are why he’ll keep his roster spot for a long time. KJ is always ready when Kirk dials his number. That drive might be a season changing performance.

Josh Metellus

Metellus had the unenviable task of taking over for Harrison Smith and having the fans begging to see the rookie Cine instead. He stepped up nicely in Hitman’s role. The defense has struggled mightily against the run this year and weren’t great on Sunday. However, that would’ve been much worse if Metellus wasn’t there in support. I thought he was excellent, and the game sealing INT was just icing on the cake.

Offensive Line

The OL did its job superbly on Sunday. Kirk had a clean pocket almost all day. The running lanes for Cook and Mattison were big, and the run game was very effective. It’s the best the OL has played in a long time. They’ve improved significantly from last year, but this game was their best all year.