On uneven day for Vikings offense, Kirk Cousins was at his best in the red zone

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. – In their first four games of the season, the Vikings turned just seven of their 15 red-zone attempts into touchdowns, costing themselves chances to keep their loss to the Eagles close and to turn victories over the Packers and Saints into blowouts.

Kirk Cousins attempted 28 passes in the red zone in those games — the third-most in the league behind only Las Vegas' Derek Carr and Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, according to Sports Info Solutions. He threw 18 inside an opponent's 10-yard line (second only to Carr). His success rates were nowhere near the top of the league.

Through those four games, just 73.3% of his passes inside the 10 were catchable and 60% were on target, per SIS. Those rates were among the NFL's worst, and contributed to a 38.9 completion percentage in the low red zone that was the eighth-worst in the league through four weeks.

Against the Bears in Week 5, though, Cousins hit Jalen Reagor for a 1-yard score on a push pass during a game in which he completed four of his six red-zone passes overall and the Vikings added three rushing touchdowns: two from Dalvin Cook and one from Cousins on a QB sneak.

In their 24-16 victory Sunday against the Dolphins, the Vikings had only two drives within the course of normal game situations that reached the red zone. Cousins finished them with two plays that might rank among his best near the goal line this season.

On his first touchdown pass, the Vikings lined up at the 1 with two tight ends, fullback C.J. Ham accompanying Dalvin Cook in the backfield and Justin Jefferson split wide to Cousins' left. After a play fake, Cousins lofted a touch pass for Irv Smith Jr., who shed Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker and slipped into the back of the end zone, tapping his feet in bounds behind Miami's coverage.

The Vikings went up 16-3 early in the fourth quarter on Cousins' second touchdown pass, when he found Adam Thielen as his third option on the play.

On second down from the 2, the play began with a similar look to Cousins' first TD pass of the season, with K.J. Osborn in motion behind the line of scrimmage as Jefferson was against the Packers. Cousins looked toward Osborn releasing outside, then checked Smith before drifting to his left to buy time.

"K.J. in the flat [is the first read]," Cousins said. "They did a good job feathering off to him, and then I was trying to get to Irv, but they had another player feathering off to Irv, and then Adam won across the field in the back of the end zone. At that point you're kind of saying, 'Please show up, Adam, because I'm running out of options here.' He had a step on his guy, and then what Adam does so well is when the ball is in a tight window, he's strong at the catch point and finds a way to bring that down, keep his feet in [bounds] and get us a six."

The Dolphins sent six rushers after Cousins on the play, but Cook, after motioning back into the backfield a wide receiver alignment, picked up Dolphins tackle Zach Sieler with a cut block and the Vikings' line held up as Cousins worked through his reads, landing on his most familiar red zone target.

"You don't focus on the rush, but you feel it," Cousins said. "So if you're not feeling it, then you know, 'I've got a tick here; I've got a second.' I didn't feel anybody around me and felt like the protection was holding up enough to kind of get through that progression. But huge that Adam came open."

Cook, for what it's worth, has run only six times for 15 yards inside the 10-yard line, scoring twice against the Bears; Alexander Mattison has five runs for 14 yards and a TD. The Vikings' propensity to throw near the goal line early this season has meant they are counting on their QB to finish drives.

On Sunday, Cousins connected with Smith and Thielen on two plays that might have been some of his best quarterbacking of the day.

Harrison Smith: The 11th-year safety had two of the Vikings' three takeaways, coming down with his 31st career interception after Cam Bynum jarred the ball loose from Jaylen Waddle and sent it back into the air. Smith also made a terrific play to strip Waddle on his fourth-quarter fumble, reaching out with one hand to knock the ball loose and create a turnover that kept the Dolphins from possibly driving for the lead.

Patrick Jones: The second-year pass rusher "was a man on a mission," coach Kevin O'Connell said, with D.J. Wonnum out and a bigger role in store for Jones. He responded with the first two-sack game of his career, lining up next to Za'Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter and working a stunt for his first sack and getting his second one while lined up next to Hunter. He also teamed with Hunter to pressure Teddy Bridgewater on the third-quarter play when Bridgewater was flagged for intentional grounding.

The Vikings' number of ineffective offensive plays: Whether it's because coaches are struggling to put the Vikings in the right situations or players aren't executing, the offense didn't do enough to generate consistent production on Sunday. Cousins' average throw traveled only 5.4 air yards on Sunday, according to NFL Next Gen Stats; Thielen and Osborn struggled to separate from defenders.

Cousins' eight pass attempts to Jefferson added 4.4 expected points, according to data from NFL Fast R; the 10 pass attempts to Thielen added 2.3. His one throw to Cook added half an expected point, and a short handoff to C.J. Ham to convert a third-and-1 added 0.89 expected points.

Other than that, everything the Vikings attempted on Sunday was a net negative, in terms of expected points added. They had 10 three-and-outs, and Ryan Wright punted 10 times, the most by any punter in a game this season. The Vikings simply weren't able to produce effectively against a defense whose style of play should have given them chances.

According to Sports Info Solutions, the Dolphins came into the game using a one-safety shell 60% of the time (the fourth-highest rate in the league). They kept two safeties back only 23% of the time, tied for the lowest rate in the NFL. Their commitment to honoring the run created some favorable throwing windows for Cousins on the Vikings' first touchdown drive; O'Connell admitted afterward he had to hold back a smile when the Dolphins' coverage alignment allowed Cousins to check to Jefferson for a 47-yard throw.

With more efficient drives, the Vikings could have pulled away from a Dolphins team that gifted them excellent field position throughout the game. They'll look to improve in that area after the bye.