The Minnesota Vikings and Kirk Cousins are coming into 2022 with dreams of a Super Bowl season.
Whether those dreams ever happen is up for debate.
Cousins came to Minnesota in 2018 under the guise he’d help the team make the playoffs.
However, that didn’t happen until 2019.
That was because of a crucial loss to the Chicago Bears in the last game of the 2018 season, knocking them out of the playoffs.
But ever since that 2019 playoff run for Cousins and the Vikings, it’s been downhill from there.
That would leave fans split on how they feel about Cousins in Minnesota.
One segment of Vikings fans think the team needs to move on from him.
However, there are fans who believe in him and his ability to win a Super Bowl with the Vikings.
In 2023 Kirk Cousins will win a super bowl pic.twitter.com/szt06s9wWf
— Ben (@benjaminbatell) April 18, 2022
But are those fans dreaming too big with their aging quarterback in Minnesota?
Cousins Isn’t The Same Quarterback From Four Years Ago
People believing in Cousins speak of his greatness from a time long ago.
They talk about his passing stats from 2018 to 2019.
However, his stats don’t win games for the team.
But people still like talking about them and comparing them to other former Vikings quarterbacks.
Brett Favre Vikes 2009 stats:
4202 yards, 33 TDs, 7 IntsKirk Cousins 2021 stats:
4221 yards, 33 TDs, 7 IntsIdk what to think right now. Lol
— Ryan Kahnke (@RyanKahnke) January 9, 2022
While Cousins had two exceptional years with the Vikings, he’s seen some decline since then.
His completion percentage keeps going down, something that doesn’t help the team.
However, his passing yards and touchdowns haven’t fluctuated too much over the last four years.
But that doesn’t make him the same quarterback from the 2018 or 2019 NFL season.
He could see even further decline in 2022, unless he finds that old Cousins from years ago.
Can Cousins Put Together All The Best Things During His Time In Minnesota?
Each season has seen Cousins have one area he excelled at under center.
In 2018, he had 4,298 passing yards and a 70.1 completion percentage, both all-time highs for him.
For 2019, he threw his fewest number of interceptions as a starter with only six and recorded his most wins with ten.
2020 saw him with the most touchdowns in a season with the team at 35.
He did well in some areas during his first three years.
However, he has yet to bring all those things into one season.
If he could do that, have all his seasons rolled into a single season, he could take the Vikings to a Super Bowl.
That might not happen when you look at the case for his regression.
He No Longer Has Two Top-Tier Receivers
In his first two years with the Vikings, Cousins had Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.
He also had tight end Kyle Rudolph, a favorite target in his first year with the Vikings.
However, the Vikings traded Diggs to the Bills and released Rudolph.
These two moves took away weapons from Cousins.
He does have Justin Jefferson, but losing Diggs and Rudolph remains notable.
Without multiple threats at his disposal, he won’t see a better season in 2022.
It also means Cousins won’t be taking the Vikings to a Super Bowl in 2022.
NEXT: Kirk Cousins Needs To Prove The Vikings Should Keep Him Indefinitely