With Kirk Cousins getting a one-year, $35 million extension from the Minnesota Vikings, some fans are demanding him to perform this season.
However, an examination of his NFL statistics with him in Minnesota tells an interesting story.
Despite the criticism of the quarterback, he isn’t as bad as some fans believe he is.
He’s done as much as possible to help them win games.
But it’s been Minnesota’s defense letting him down.
Other times it’s his own offense and lack of weapons outside of Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen that hurt him.
Even with those facts, fans still demand a playoff appearance from him this season.
Is The Lack Of Playoff Appearances Solely On Cousins?
Cousins’ first season with Minnesota in 2018 saw him post a career-high 30 touchdowns.
However, the team went 8-7-1 that season and missed the NFL playoffs.
Several games were lost by his defense, who couldn’t stop teams from scoring.
A matchup against the Green Bay Packers saw Cousins throw for four touchdowns in a game that ended in a tie.
They also lost a shootout against the Los Angeles Rams 38-31, where he had three touchdowns and 422 passing yards.
I cant believe people are dogging Kirk Cousins right now for this game.
Cousins threw for 422 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a rating of 117. He was excellent. 31 points is winning most games! This is on the defense and coach Zimmer.— Dominique Clare (@DomClare) September 28, 2018
Minnesota would have made the playoffs had they won those two games.
Yet fans put everything at the feet of Cousins.
That isn’t fair to him when he is performing and doing everything to win games.
However, there are fans who won’t see it that way with Cousins.
They feel he is overpaid for what they see as a mediocre quarterback.
But that isn’t completely true.
While the $35 million is excessive, he does his best to lead the Vikings in games.
In 2022, he’ll need he’s defense to help hold back opponents to keep them from losing games.
Will The Vikings Defense Allow Cousins To Find Glory In 2022?
With the Vikings defense crumbling during critical games, can they hold up in 2022?
They ranked 29th in 2020 and 24th in 2021 in points allowed, and they need a tremendous improvement to help Cousins.
However, 2022 could be a different tune for Minnesota.
They fired their head coach and defensive coordinator.
They also let Anthony Barr and Xavier Woods go in free agency.
Now 2022 will see Ed Donatell and his 3-4 defensive scheme in games from now on.
Also, the team signed former Green Bay Packers linebacker Za’Darius Smith.
WE ARE PARTYING#VIKINGS SIGN ZA'DARIUS SMITH
3 YEARS $42 MILLION BASE#SKOL 🥁🥁🙏 pic.twitter.com/ZsJGatyJIQ
— Locked On Vikings (@lockedonvikings) March 22, 2022
He’s a tremendous defensive talent and is hungry to return to the football field after missing last season.
The Vikings also signed cornerbacks Chandon Sullivan and Nate Hairston.
With the new talent on defense, and new coaching, Cousins might have a defense to help him.
Had the defense been better the past two seasons, Cousins might have more playoff appearances under his belt.
However, that isn’t the case, which led fans to blame him instead of their defense for the team’s woes.
But Minnesota hopes to change things in 2022 with their defense, and change their fortune.
If their defense can show up in 2022, the Vikings could finally make the playoffs again and Cousins can be absolved of undue criticism.
NEXT: Is Kirk Cousins Facing Any Real Pressure In 2022?