Kirk Cousins Gives the Offensive Line A Second Chance

Carson Wentz made recent history for his futility on Monday night, but he didn’t do it alone. The Minnesota Vikings offensive line didn’t leave a shining impression on TCF Bank Stadium.

The Details

Ed Oliver demolished the interior line, racking up three hits on his game-high seven pressures. Even before then, Kyler Murray wasn’t doing much better under pressure, taking three or more sacks in four of his five full games.

In the days since, the Vikings saw fit to fix the quarterback while not upgrading their offensive line. That’s notable, given that O-line play was a common scapegoat for Kirk Cousins ‘ disappointment in his first stint in Minnesota. Are Cousins and the Vikes doomed to repeat history?

The good news is that Cousins will have something to say about it, as many of these struggles are self-inflicted. On Monday, Wentz averaged 3.44 seconds to throw the ball when pressured, which is middle-of-the-pack league-wide and noticeably slower than his own pace in his two wins. Murray is downright terrible at getting rid of the ball when the heat turns up, hanging onto it an average of 4.04 seconds.

This isn’t an issue with Cousins, who executes his plan even against pressure. Only Jordan Love and Matthew Stafford deliver the ball quicker than Cousins’ 3.03-second average when pressured. Some of that is a difference in playstyle — Cousins has much less pocket mobility than Murray — but not all of it. Or, at the very least, Murray wasn’t able to buy enough time with his legs to make plays downfield.

That’s the good news. The bad is that once he gets rid of the ball, he isn’t doing much under pressure. So far this season, his results when pressured don’t look significantly different from Murray’s when you put them side-by-side:

Cousins under pressure

42 for 99, 5.5 yards per attempt, 3 TD/5 INT, 49.5 QB Rating Murray under pressure:

18 for 43, 5.3 yards per attempt, 1 TD/2 INT, 47.6 QB Rating So the offensive line has to hold up their end of the bargain. Here’s more good news: For the most part, they have. PFF ranks their pass-blocking ninth in the NFL. That’s an upgrade over the Las Vegas Raiders, who sit all the way at 28th. Minnesota is better suited to giving Cousins the clean pockets he needs to succeed.

Brian O’Neill ranks 12th among linemen with an 80.8 grade, and while Christian Darrisaw isn’t back to his pre-injury form, he’s still solid.

Blake Brandel is holding up at center, while

Joe Huber is working in a pinch. The biggest worry is how much one weak link will break Minnesota’s chain.

A big culprit on Monday night was

Will Fries being awful again, earning his fifth sub-50.0 PFF pass-blocking grade in eight games this year. One member of a five-man unit underperforming feels like something you can paper over, until you realize why the Vikings compensated Fries handsomely to begin with.

The NFL’s been in an arms race in the trenches, as defenses figured out that the quickest way to the quarterback is through the guards and center, and offenses have had to adjust. Fries was supposed to be a bulwark against that fastest route, and it’s clear that plan is going bust. It’s a problem that Cousins’ heavy, 38-year-old feet could exacerbate.

Nolan Teasley and

Kevin O’Connell must feel this weakness can be patched over with Cousins, though, since they likely would have made another move to address Fries’ struggles. If so, Cousins should be able to benefit from the infrastructure J.J. McCarthy, Murray, and Wentz were supposed to take advantage of. If not, Cousins could be the latest quarterback to be chucked into the bin during this post- Sam Darnold Era.

Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott covers the Wild for Hockey Wilderness, and the Vikings and Twins for Zone Coverage. He has covered hockey since 2013, previously with The Athletic Minnesota.