They needed eight yards. Cousins gave them THREE.
When your season comes down to a single play, you absolutely have to give your team a chance to succeed. Kirk Cousins did not do that in Sunday’s critical fourth-down play against the Giants.
With New York up seven points and the Vikings looking to tie the game and force overtime, the Vikings faced a fourth-and-eight play from the 48-yard line with just under two minutes to play. And let me tell ya — Cousins is going to have a long offseason thinking about that pass.
Needing eight yards to pick up the first down, Cousins instead checked down to T.J. Hockenson a good five yards short of the marker. The play stood no chance.
Giants deny the Vikings!
: #NYGvsMIN on FOX
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/uuhRH8WYIn pic.twitter.com/CIPFPUD3Ao
— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2023
Obviously, the decision to pass that short of the first down was beyond strange, but it was also weird how quickly Cousins gave up on any vertical pass. He had a way better chance just throwing the ball up to a defended Justin Jefferson than whatever happened on that play.
With that turnover on downs, the Giants ran out the clock to move on to the Divisional round. NFL fans were not exactly pleased with Cousins’ pass either.
