The Evolution of the Defense of Cousins

The Minnesota Vikings were supposedly a quarterback away from winning a Super Bowl following a highly successful 2017 season.

In the moment, of course, it’s easy to believe it, and nobody should fault the Vikings for it. Minnesota was a single win away from playing in the Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium, and that was with Case Keenum at quarterback. Imagine what this team could be with an upgrade at the most important position in football!

So Minnesota shelled out an $84 million, fully-guaranteed contract to Kirk Cousins, pushing all the chips forward in hopes of a Super Bowl run.

Needless to say, a Super Bowl run has not exactly panned out. The Vikings missed the playoffs entirely in two of three seasons during the Cousins era and won a road playoff game during the 2019 playoffs before being soundly defeated the following week.

It turns out that the Vikings were much more than “a quarterback away” from a Super Bowl run. It was a mirage. Several parts magically worked together perfectly during the 2017 season — almost too perfectly. The defense stayed overwhelmingly healthy and performed at a level that hadn’t been seen in decades in the NFL. Meanwhile, with the help of a surprisingly decent offensive line, journeyman backup quarterback Keenum was putting together a career season, dramatically exceeding the previous standard set for him.

And here’s the kicker: a legitimate miracle was required for this team to win a home playoff game.

It’s understandable for fans to gloss over how unsustainable all of these factors were. That’s what fandom is — seeing the optimistic perspective on the outlook of your team.

However, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that the Vikings’ front office made the same mistake. General manager Rick Spielman didn’t see the regression that was bound to happen from the defense or the offensive line. He took the “quarterback away” bait. And it was costly.