EAGAN, Minn. -- Kirk Cousins drove away from FedEx Field on New Year’s Day 2017 reeling in disappointment. In his second season as the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback, the team’s playoff dreams came down to the final game of the 2016 season against the New York Giants, who had already clinched a spot in the postseason.
After putting up the best numbers of his career through the first 15 games, Cousins had his worst performance of the season in a do-or-die situation. He finished with a 74.3 passer rating after throwing one touchdown and two interceptions and being sacked four times.
The Giants won 19-10 and prevented Washington from making back-to-back playoff appearances. During his time with the Redskins, Cousins led his team to the playoffs only once.
Two seasons later, the quarterback who was guaranteed $84 million for three years by the Vikings last offseason gets his shot at redemption, facing the same situation in Week 17 with Minnesota’s playoff chances coming down to a win over a divisional rival.
On Sunday, the NFC North champion Chicago Bears come to town hoping to end the Vikings’ season and avoid having to potentially play them again in the wild-card round.
That same day, the Vikings will find out whether their investment in Cousins is paying off.
The Vikings bid adieu to Case Keenum, who got them to the NFC Championship Game a year ago, because they weren’t sure he could lead another deep playoff run. The identity of Mike Zimmer’s Vikings is rooted in a stout defense that wins games with an offense expected to hold up its end, but Minnesota brought in Cousins to win these types of games.
Forget Cousins’ record in prime-time games and whether he can perform on the big stage. Forget what he’s already done this season, stretching toward the top in franchise records and orchestrating a top-10 passing attack. There’s nothing bigger than the win-and-in situation Cousins is about to face and the all-encompassing nature of the nerves, excitement and anxiety he’ll have to play through with so much at stake.
"I joke with people that when the math teacher junior year of high school said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a pop quiz,’ you start to feel the butterflies because you want to do well, it matters to you," Cousins said. "Frankly, I think when I have butterflies, I play a little better because it heightens your awareness and your attention to detail and your sense of urgency. I’ve always felt that when I step onto the field regardless of the game, those will be there again Sunday afternoon."
Sure, the Vikings could still earn a spot in the postseason with a loss to the Bears, but that would mean the Philadelphia Eagles would have to lose to the Redskins. All week, Cousins, Zimmer and others have echoed the same sentiment: They want to be in control of their own destiny and not back into the playoffs.
Cousins’ most important asset in Week 17 is largely where this game is being played. The Vikings’ defense has thrived at U.S. Bank Stadium, helping to bail out the offense at times when it has found itself in sticky situations over the past two years.
The question is not whether Cousins needs to have his best performance of the year with everything on the line. But he’ll need to be better than he was in a 25-20 loss to the Bears in Week 11 when he threw two interceptions.
"We understand what’s at stake," said Cousins, who faces a Bears defense that has allowed an average QBR of 51 this season. "There have been plenty of games this year where I’ve given everything I have and we don’t come out on top and I don’t have a great game. But there’s also been [games] where I do that exact same process and it’s more than good enough and I play at a very high level or we play at a very high level. We just have to be the best team that night."
Zimmer had a three-hour meeting with Cousins before training camp to go over expectations for the season. It’s something the Vikings' coach has had to do frequently since he arrived in Minnesota in 2014, given the rapid rate of new quarterbacks who have come through year after year.
"He asked what I wanted from him and what he can do to help and those kind of things," Zimmer said. "It wasn’t like you have to do this or you have to do that."
Zimmer learned from that meeting and throughout this season how much of a pleaser Cousins is. With that could come the risk of playing tight or trying to do too much, which Zimmer says he hasn’t noticed from his franchise QB.
"He wants to do good for the team," Zimmer said. "He wants to do good for everybody. I don’t think that he ever tries to be more cautious, if that's what you’re asking."
The last time the Vikings faced a situation when a shot at the playoffs came down to the final game occurred during Christian Ponder’s second season in 2012. Minnesota beat Green Bay to earn the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs in one of the best performances of Ponder’s career.
The Vikings’ season hangs in the balance, as does the ceiling for where Cousins can go from here. Minnesota will begin to yield its return on investment based on whether Cousins is able to take this team to the playoffs.