Kirk Cousins knows a lot about NFL history. The Vikings quarterback, who was just four years old when Buffalo advanced from a 32-point deficit in his 1992 playoffs, has seen a replay of the game on television.
Through Saturday, the Bills’ 41-38 overtime victory over the Houston Oilers was the biggest comeback in NFL history. Then the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium beat Indianapolis 39-36 in overtime from him 33 points behind.
“I’m a football fan,” Cousins said. “Off the field, when someone said it was the biggest comeback, I thought of[Bills quarterback]Frank Reich[and Houston quarterback]Warren Moon. That game. I thought, ‘What could have been bigger than that comeback?
it was. The Vikings trailed 33-0 at halftime with 8:22 remaining when Cousins scored a 2-yard touchdown he hit KJ Osborne on a pass he cut the deficit to 33-7. .
It made a comeback. And Cousins, who completed 34 of 54 passes for a career-high 460 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, threw for all TDs and an amazing 417 yards after halftime.
“It’s an incredible game,” Cousins said. “Glad to win. Glad to be back. …Things like that don’t happen to the average person.
Cousins wasn’t average on Saturday. The Vikings had little room for error in the second half and he helped pull them back.
Cousins’ other touchdown passes were thrown in the fourth quarter on screen passes to Justin Jefferson for 8 yards, Adam Thielen for 1 yard, and Dalvin Cook for 64 yards. After throwing to Cook with 2:15 left in regulation, Cousins threw a two-point conversion pass to TJ Hockenson to tie the score at 36–36.
Vikings manager Kevin O’Connell said, “If a quarterback doesn’t play at an incredibly high level, we can’t win football games the way we needed to.
Cousins admitted that his “halftime ideas weren’t great.” He said he began to believe the Vikings could win after throwing his pass for a touchdown to Jefferson with 12:53 left in regulation to cut the deficit to 36-21.
“I was asking myself, ‘At what point is it going to be a normal NFL football game,'” Cousins said. Get off the top of your head here, cut to 15 (then) and this is right there.
Jefferson caught 12 passes for 123 yards, Osborne recorded 10 receptions for 157 yards, and Cook caught four balls for 95 yards. Cook also ran for 95 yards.
“Because he’s the leader, something had to start,” Jefferson said of Cousins. “He made some tough throws. He put us in a great position.”
After the game, Cousins showed up for the postgame interview wearing a flashy purple jacket with the Vikings logo. He said he would have worn something else if Minnesota hadn’t been lost.
“My wife dresses me,” Cousins said. “She put it out last night. I looked at her and said, ‘I don’t know.
And it certainly was a pleasant victory for the Vikings.
“I want to enjoy moments like this,” he said.