Kirk Cousins makes NFL history and breaks his mold in Vikings comeback victory

In one epic afternoon, Kirk Cousins won his first NFC North title, threw for a career high in passing yards, handcrafted the biggest comeback in NFL history and set a record for the gaudiest jacket ever worn by a guy who thinks that khaki is a little too risque for public display.

"My wife dresses me," he said. "She put it out last night and I looked at her and said, 'I don't know.' She nodded, said, 'You've got to do it.' So here we are."

Saturday, Cousins threw touchdowns to four receivers as the Vikings overcame a 33-point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime at U.S. Bank Stadium. He finished with 460 passing yards, including 417 after halftime — a total that would rank as the seventh-most passing yards he had accumulated in any game.

This season, the former Quirk Cousins has earned the nickname "Clutch," trading in his accountant's green eyeshade for a quick-draw holster. The Vikings are 10-0 this season in one-score games, and two of those victories — at Buffalo five weeks ago, and Sunday against the Colts — rank among the most dramatic in franchise history.

"I'm a fan of football, and walking off the field, someone said it was the largest comeback," Cousins said. "I thought of Frank Reich and the Bills and I thought, 'It couldn't have been bigger than that.' "

In the playoffs of the 1992 season, Reich led the Bills to a victory after they trailed Warren Moon and the Oilers by 32 points. Last month, Reich was fired by as Colts coach and replaced by Jeff Saturday, who on Saturday became the victim of the comeback that trumped Reich's.

Cousins was 4 when that game was played. He has seen it.

"I watch the NFL Network," Cousins said. "The other day I watched the 2013 NFC Championship Game between the Seahawks and Niners. I'm watching that as a student of the game. That's a game, and a stage, that I want to play on. I want to watch that. So whenever those games come on, I always try to take something from them and make myself a better player."

This season he has made himself a different quarterback. He takes more chances downfield, is more evasive in the pocket, is handling pressure (whether caused by pass rushers or expectations) with more grace, and is by definition making more winning plays.

The division-clinching victory leaves the Vikings at 11-3. Cousins' career record is 70-62-2 and he is 44-32-1 in Minnesota. He had never produced 11 victories in a season and he could set personal bests for touchdowns and yards passing.

He also seems different on the sideline. The quarterback who once argued with Adam Thielen, lost faith in Stefon Diggs and startled coach Mike Zimmer with a (playful?) shove last year has displayed leadership under pressure that was again on display Saturday.

With the Vikings trailing by 15 midway through the fourth quarter, Cousins fired a pass deep down the left sideline. Receiver Jalen Reagor stopped running and the pass was intercepted.

Cousins threw his hands in the air and stormed toward the sideline. By the time he reached Reagor, he looked to be speaking in low, comforting tones as he patted the receiver on the back.

In the second half, Cousins threw touchdown passes to four different receivers — and the tying two-point conversion to a fifth — on five different kinds of routes.

He hit K.J. Osborn on a quick out in the front left corner of the end zone. He hit Justin Jefferson on a double move near the goal line against star cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He hit Adam Thielen on a third or fourth read off a play-action fake.

He threw the screen pass that Dalvin Cook turned into a 64-yard touchdown. And he threw a bullet to tight end T.J. Hockenson for the two-point conversion, setting up his orchestration of the drive for a winning field goal in overtime.

Cousins calls division-clinchers "Hat and T-shirt games." Saturday, he added a colorful jacket, and an implied crown.