Vikings' win over Bears shows Kirk Cousins has more support than ever from team

The franchise-record 17 consecutive passes Kirk Cousins completed to start Sunday's game were part of a game plan the quarterback said "put the wind at our backs," with plays that allowed him to find his first read in open space.

The 17-play drive Cousins orchestrated to give the Vikings their final 29-22 lead over the Bears, Kevin O'Connell said, featured examples of Cousins "really playing quarterback [Sunday], as far as playing the game post-snap, throwing completions, being accurate." Later, he added, "Where he's at and where he's headed in this offense, I feel very, very good about Kirk Cousins."

Sunday was the first time this season the Vikings eclipsed 300 passing yards. Their offense still goes through stretches of maddening inconsistency, like during the Bears' 19-point run to take the lead in the second half. It was difficult to listen to Cousins' and O'Connell's postgame comments, though, and not infer the quarterback is more supported and empowered than at any point during his five seasons with the team.

The Vikings' win over the Bears found Cousins with plenty of latitude at the line of scrimmage, using a hard count on more than half of the team's offensive plays and making a series of checks to change plays or assignments, such as Dalvin Cook's 13-yard run in the third quarter. He hit Justin Jefferson for 15 yards off a run-pass option in the first quarter, fitting the throw over Jaquan Brisker after Alexander Mattison's run action held the rookie safety near the line of scrimmage. On another third-quarter run, Cousins changed the play after a hard count and yelled, "We gotta go, we gotta go," motioning Adam Thielen in to block for a run and quickly snapping the ball to avoid a delay of game penalty.

The Vikings used a no-huddle offense to push the pace on some plays, but they also employed it to keep the Bears from substituting and give Cousins plenty of time to survey the defense and direct traffic before snapping the ball.

O'Connell said Cousins has "a clear-cut criteria" for when he can check out of plays at the line of scrimmage. "[It's] based on a lot of different factors," O'Connell said, "from whether you're looking at front structure and a potential pressure to different pass concepts.

"The possibilities once you've established your system are really based on what we think is best for our team every week, and it changes every week. A lot of those times [on Sunday], we were in kind of a no-huddle mode where we are just able to activate things based on what Kirk is seeing up there and ultimately my trust level in him to make great decisions."

One of the Vikings' four third-down conversions on their final drive came when Cousins saw the Bears were in two-man coverage, realized he had room to run and pulled the ball down for a 5-yard gain.

"I felt Adam get bear-hugged. He was really my No. 1 guy on the route and he got bear-hugged, so he's not getting open," Cousins said. "And then Irv [Smith] kind of got mugged, as well, getting off the line. And then the rush, I just felt somebody cross my face and rather than progress to the backside to Justin [Jefferson] and K.J. [Osborn], I knew I had a chance to run. I felt the rush kind of cross my face, and I just thought, 'I'm just going to take off here and try to get it.'"

On his game-winning QB sneak, Cousins started in shotgun formation before moving under center, admitting after the game the keeper was one of several options he had on the play.

"I give Kirk all the credit in the world in that moment for making a great decision, and ultimately the other 10 guys being able to execute, no matter how the play ended up playing out, to get us in the end zone," O'Connell said. "When Kirk's playing the way he did [Sunday], there's a lot of offense we can get to at any point in time."

According to ESPN Stats and Information, there wasn't a defender within a yard of a Vikings receiver on any of Cousins' 41 pass attempts on Sunday. His expected completion rate, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, was 74.7% — tied with Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence in Week 2 and Cleveland's Jacoby Brissett in Week 3 for the third-highest single-game rate in the league this season.

Cousins averaged 9.25 yards per completion on Sunday, though his average completion traveled only 4.5 yards in the air, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His longest completion — a throw to Jefferson off a three-step drop that Cousins fit over Bears cornerback Kindle Victor — traveled 34 yards in the air. The fact he delivered so many passes on time allowed his receivers to gain more than half of his 296 passing yards after the catch.

"You don't have to throw it over people's heads all the time to generate explosives," O'Connell said Sunday. "Some [defenses] just won't allow that, and that's when we kind of have to lock into a mode of all five eligibles coming to life, attacking coverage within depth, and our guys just have done a tremendous job."

Cousins' interception on Sunday was his fifth in as many games. It came, he said, as he tried to make up for previous safer throws by chasing a bigger play to Thielen, rather than taking a high-percentage throw to C.J. Ham in the flat. The Vikings (4-1) have punted only seven times during their three-game win streak, but whether it's been because of turnovers or red-zone struggles, they've been unable to build or keep comfortable leads.

Cousins, though, would seem to have a larger voice in the Vikings' offense than he's had in the past. As O'Connell put it Sunday, "Our team can handle a lot because our quarterback can handle a lot."

Even if, by Cousins' own admission, he's still learning the details of O'Connell's scheme, the 11th-year quarterback has his coach's trust.

"I would tell you that after being in a system for three-ish years, three different play callers but a similar system, I'm not where I was at the end of last season in that old system," Cousins said. "But we're developing and we're getting there. I'm excited about that continued growth, and we have to keep showing that. We've got to get to the bye and look back and feel like we are every week taking another step towards that synergy. He certainly is in my corner, and I think that makes for a great help as a quarterback."

Cameron Dantzler: For the second week in a row, Dantzler made plays that might have saved the game for the Vikings. The cornerback's strip of Ihmir Smith-Marsette at the end of the game got most of the attention, but Dantzler kept the Bears from pulling within a field goal after a third-quarter touchdown with a strong open-field tackle on Dante Pettis to stop Chicago's two-point conversion. He also drew an illegal block penalty on Smith-Marsette that wiped out Justin Fields' 52-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter; Dantzler laughed as he called it "a flop" after the game, adding, "It was kind of a smart play by me."

Special teams mistakes: The Vikings might not have won in London without the big plays their special teams made against the Saints. On Sunday, mistakes by the group nearly cost the Vikings the game against the Bears. Ryan Wright's only punt of the day was a 15-yard shank that gave the Bears great field position, especially when D.J. Wonnum's holding penalty added another 10 yards to the play. Greg Joseph missed a pair of field goals, and is now 1-for-5 on kicks of 50 yards or more this season. O'Connell said Monday his "confidence in Greg will not waver. I expect him, when he goes out there, to make those kicks, and I'm going to continue to give him opportunities."

Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels' groups got plenty of praise a week ago; the units have plenty to fix this week.