Heading into their late October matchup with the Green Bay Packers, it looked like the Minnesota Vikings were primed to make noise in the NFC. The biggest reason for their success was Kirk Cousins, who played arguably the best football of his career through the first half of the 2023 season.
But as the Vikings tried to close the Packers out in the fourth quarter, Cousins unfortunately tore his Achilles. Whatever promise this Minnesota season had, it almost certainly evaporated entirely in the wake of Cousins’ injury.
RELATED: Kirk Cousins talks about his Achilles injury recovery and more in Q&A.
In a new mic’d-up video courtesy of the Vikings, Cousins is shown in clear denial about what happened to him. It’s heartbreaking to watch an athlete talk about themselves with false positivity like this:
The #Vikings were on a run and starting to play their best football of the season heading into Green Bay Week 8.
And with 10:25 left in the 4th quarter, the course of the season changed.
📺: https://t.co/JVkMJtqdNB pic.twitter.com/ctgEGqRTed
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) February 22, 2024
Cousins narrates over the video, so he seems to be in good spirits now. However, that is with his NFL future unsettled. It is unclear whether Cousins will return to the Vikings in 2024, as he’s set to be an unrestricted free agent. Still, Minnesota does have a quality roster, and it would make sense to bring Cousins back.
You’d just hate for Cousins’ last moment as a Viking to be in denial about a season-ending injury.
This is how Twitter reacted to the video of Cousins talking himself through his injury
Robbed of an MVP season
Football is a cruel game https://t.co/SAxL1L42Nd
— Joe (@realjoespinosa) February 22, 2024
https://t.co/s9rcJBnOhk pic.twitter.com/4ESRI56tn5
— The Juice 🧃 Man (@KotaCapperPace) February 22, 2024
Everything was coming together in this game. Defense was playing great. Offense was clicking on all cylinders. This injury derailed the entire season. It was just a mess after this, on top of one injury after another. https://t.co/ddRID0ZYe2
— Fire the Pohlads (@kmbnrb09) February 22, 2024
Always too good to be true with this team, if it’s going good for them know something’s about to derail the train real quick every time, dammit what could have been https://t.co/9EGW8WR8vW
— Shaw Plush (@teyshawn51) February 22, 2024
Imagine thinking this guy is the weak link to the Vikings Organization psssh. Dudes a gamer and loves football https://t.co/lGsrFZCpd6
— Donjon2🦤 (@TheDonJulio1) February 22, 2024
THAT'S
MY
QUARTERBACK https://t.co/zuFdlOajAG
— Brandon Hayes (@stillmaticb33) February 22, 2024
Just the Vikings out here giving me hope about Kirk coming back 🥲 https://t.co/KU1H7QSQSx
— Betsy Chilton (@MetziChilton) February 22, 2024
I wish we could turn injuries off 💔 https://t.co/T8CCeSuJm1
— Alex Carpenter (@Carp2291) February 22, 2024
Injuries suck. Probably the last time we see #8 in purple again. 😢 https://t.co/7izNLB3pV9
— Matt T. (@MTillbilly) February 22, 2024
