After getting steamrolled by the Philadelphia Eagles 24-7 on Monday night, the Vikings are looking forward to the Lions on Sunday afternoon.
It was far from a banner day for starting quarterback Kirk Cousins who threw three interceptions and had 11 passes defended. He threw too many checkdowns and the whole game went completely pear shaped.
The interceptions that he threw were a true mixed bag. Lets break them down here.
First interception
The Vikings get the look that they want here. With the Eagles in cover-3, they run two posts on the backside. Jefferson gets single coverage and has the leverage to beat Darius Slay to the inside. The problem here is that he gives up the leverage and for some reason goes behind him giving Slay an easy interception. Cousins makes the proper read and a good throw. It’s a shame that Jefferson let him down like that.
Second interception
This is eerily similar to a smash concept. The shallow route paired with a corner route is meant to have the near corner in conflict. How he responds to the route determines where the quarterback goes with the football. Unfortunately, the corner baits Cousins into making the deeper throw, its a little short and becomes an interception. This is an interception I throw all the time in NCAA 14 and Cousins should have been aware of the corner trying to bait him. Really bad interception for a Vikings offense that was trying to still make this a game.
Third interception
This is a ball you just cannot throw if you are Cousins. Jefferson has a corner route open and all Cousins has to do is throw it to the pile-on. Yes, there is pressure that he has to deal with out of an empty formation. No, that isn’t an excuse. This is a quick read and he has a landmark to throw it to. As a quality starting quarterback in the NFL, you have to make this throw. This is just another example of why Cousins isn’t in the top echelon of starting quarterbacks in the NFL.
