Vikings’ QB Kirk Cousins Angers Fans With Shocking End to Playoffs—’How?’

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has come under fire after a surprise defeat to the New York Giants on the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend.

With the Vikings coming into the game from a 13-4 regular season and with home field advantage over the the misfiring Giants (9-7-1), it all seemed to point to Cousins being poised to improve on his solitary playoff win.

After making winning by one score their speciality, with the Vikings 11-0 in tight games, it was ironic that in a winner-takes-all situation, they fell down by one score and in a manner that had fans ripping into Cousins after the game.

Cousins had already led the Vikings down the field in the final four minutes when they met the Giants in the regular season, culminating in a game-winning field goal, but this time he came up short on a fourth down that enabled the Giants to run down the clock and win 31-24 for their first playoff victory since winning the Super Bowl in 2011—coincidentally from a 9-7 regular season record.

The Vikings season fell apart when, with 1:44 remaining and trailing by seven, they faced a fourth-and-eight from the Minnesota 48-yard line with no timeouts left.

Cousins fired a pass to T.J. Hockenson but he was at least five yards short of the first-down sticks when he caught the ball and the Giants’ Xavier McKinney wrapped him up and out of play, well short of the first down.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game: “They were just able to make a play.”

After the game, Cousins tried to explain why he chose the pass, saying: “Yeah, it was just a shell read there. I saw single-high [coverage] and tried to work Justin [Jefferson] and didn’t feel good about putting it up to Justin.

Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings reacts after his team lost to the New York Giants in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday. Cousins has come under fire after the Vikings’ surprise defeat to the Giants on the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend. Getty Images

“And when I went to progress, I just felt like I was about to get sacked. I felt I had to put the ball in play. I couldn’t go down with a sack.

“So I just kicked it out to T.J., and I had thrown short of the sticks on a few occasions in the game and going back a few weeks.

“I just felt like throwing short of the sticks isn’t the end of the world, and it was obviously tight coverage. But I felt like I was going to go down and take a sack and put it out.”

Coach O’Connell said: “On that fourth down, [we were] just trying to get some eligibles vertical and the ball ended up going underneath.

“But the intent was to try to … [have] a chance to win the football game [by] pushing the ball downfield. Just didn’t open up for Kirk, and that’s on me…

“[Cousins] knew it was fourth down, and he wanted to make sure he put the ball in play. He wanted to make sure he gave someone a chance and they made a play.”

Kirk Cousins, right, and head coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings are seen prior to the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. Getty Images

O’Connell then seemingly indicated that he was surprised that Cousins made the decision he did.

He added: “The intent as a play-caller, you’re not going to call a primary concept where it’s short of the sticks to gain.

“Looking back on it, maybe I could have been more [clear and said]: ‘Hey, this is where you want the ball to be.'”

Vikings fans thought Cousins was at fault and took to Twitter to give the quarterback both barrels.

One disgruntled fan tweeted: “4th and 8, season on the line, and Kirk Cousins goes for the play to set up 5th down #NYGvsMIN.”

Another said: “Throwing a 3-yard pass on 4th and 8 to end your season is the most Kirk Cousins thing of all time.”

Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings prepares to take a snap during the third quarter against the New York Giants in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. Vikings fans took to Twitter after the game to give the quarterback both barrels. Getty Images

A third questioned why the big bucks were being splashed on Cousins when the San Francisco 49ers’ third choice QB, Brock Purdy, is continuing his winning start to his NFL career after being the last pick in the 2022 draft.

They tweeted: “How is this Brock Purdy QB, Mr. Irrelevant of 2022 Draft, playing better than Kirk Cousins as a 3rd string QB? Dude is making $934,252 a year meanwhile we spending 35,000,000+ on Kirk.”

A fourth fan wrote: “I know this may not be a popular opinion, Kirk Cousins is a prime example of why every starting QB doesn’t deserve a big contract b/c it’s their turn! A good numbers guy but has come up short in most memorable games.”

There were some who thought that Cousins’ experience should see him making better decisions, with one tweeting: “The annoying thing about Kirk Cousins is that he’ll still get talked about like some up and coming QB with potential. Yet he’s 34.”

Another wrote: “Kirk Cousins, at his big age, is still throwing check downs, short of the sticks, with the game on the line?? HOW?!”

Do you have a tip on a sports story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the NFL? Let us know via entertainment@newsweek.com.