The Minnesota Vikings are one game away from clinching a playoff spot. For that to happen, the Vikings(8-6-1) have to beat the NFC North champs the Chicago Bears at home, and they clinch a wild-card spot, but If they lose, and the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Redskins, the Vikings would miss the playoffs, and for the fans of Minnesota that would be a huge disappointment.
In the offseason, the Vikings grabbed what they thought would be their franchise quarterback in Kirk Cousins. Minnesota signed the 30-year-old quarterback to a three-year, $84 million deal, and when you pay a player that type of money, you expect immediate results.
At this point, according to former Packers, Vikings, and Dolphins WR Greg Jennings, Cousins has not been worth the money.
“Right now with the results that we see, visibly, tangible now to us all. No, it’s not worth it,” Jennings told TMZ Sports. “But what they’re getting in-house, what Kirk Cousins provides for them as far the leadership, what their expectations of him are, I think he’s meeting all of those things. In our eyes, and what his record proves, he hasn’t been able to win those big games.”
Cousins(4166, 29 TD/10 INT) has been solid, but has not been great. Coming into Week 17, he has only beaten one team(Eagles) with a winning record this season.
For the contract to be considered a success, Jennings believes Cousins needs to win in the playoffs.
“First, he needs to win Sunday, and then definitely win in the playoffs,” Jennings said. “At least win one game in the playoffs. Anybody can win in the playoffs, so it’s not a big deal.”
Remember in 2017, Minnesota was 13-3 and was one game away from making the Super Bowl. That was with Case Keenum as the quarterback. With Cousins as the quarterback, the Vikings may barely make the playoffs.
No matter what happens in 2018, Cousins is a better QB than Keenum. Ultimately, I think the Vikings will beat the Bears on Sunday and make the playoffs. However, once in the playoffs, I don’t expect this team to make a lot of noise, but once you are in the playoffs, anything can happen. Cousins can silence those who believe he can’t win important games on Sunday against Chicago. Should be interesting!