Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins made his home debut at U.S. Bank Stadium, facing the Jaguars in the second preseason game of the year. Cousins played the entire first quarter and some of the second. He completed 3-of-8 passes for 12 yards, but here's a closer look at his play in the Vikings' 14-10 loss to Jacksonville:
4.6 yards – Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo kept Cousins out of the line of fire against a strong Jaguars pass rush. Cousins' nine passes (one negated by penalty) traveled an average distance of just 4.6 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, with the farthest throw a 13-yard pass sailing over receiver Adam Thielen's helmet on a corner route. Cousins took just one hit, a sack by Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue during a play-action bootleg.
Three-receiver sets – The Vikings tried to spread out the Jaguars defense to no avail during Saturday's exhibition. Cousins ran 10 of his 16 plays with three receivers on the field, which included seven of his nine passes. All three Cousins completions came from the spread formation, including two passes thrown to receiver Laquon Treadwell for gains of seven yards and one yard. Treadwell led starting receivers with those two catches for eight yards.
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3 -- Cousins looked poised in the pocket as Jaguars defenders flew around him and a patchwork offensive line, but the Vikings quarterback missed his target a couple times and had two passes deflected by the stingy Jaguars defense.
