Kirk Cousins made a successful debut under difficult circumstances on Sunday, throwing two touchdown passes as the Vikings beat San Francisco 24-16.
Cousins threw two touchdown passes on which he displayed accuracy, and survived a spotty offensive line performance against a strong defense in his first game as the Vikings' franchise quarterback.
His 22-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs had to be thrown perfectly, and was. His 11-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph in the third quarter made it 24-6, and then he and the Vikings held on, sometimes shakily.
Cousins threw a few passes that could have been intercepted, but it's hard to argue with his final numbers and the final result. Cousins finished 20-for-36 for 244 yards and no interceptions. He did not complete a pass in the fourth quarter, but his hard count drew the 49ers offside on a fourth-and-1, giving the Vikings a first down that helped them kill the clock.
JIM SOUHAN
