Kirk Cousins ​​reminds Vikings fans he can be a good player in the crucial moment

323 days after quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​tore his Achilles tendon while playing for the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field, he pulled off one of the most improbable game-winning drives in recent history: On Monday night, he led the Atlanta Falcons 70 yards in 1:05 and threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Drake London with 34 seconds left to give the teams a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

After a disastrous performance against the Steelers in his Falcons debut, Cousins ​​​​returned to the spotlight, completing 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He was not intercepted, did not drop a ball and suffered only one sack. His passer rating was a majestic 117.2.

“I'm just trying to play football with my teammates and come out of here with a win. It's so important to find ways to win,” Cousins ​​said after the game. “That's how you make a great season. When you have those games that can go either way, you find a way to make it go in your favor. That's how this league is, and when you can find those inches, it can really change the course of the season.”

With 1:56 left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons had a 0.7% chance of winning, and according to NextGen Stats, the result was the seventh most unlikely win since 2016.

Cousins ​​has now led 31 fourth-quarter comebacks in his career, 17 of them while playing for the Vikings from 2018 to 2023. Even more impressive, 29 of the 31 comebacks are considered game-winning drives.

His first comeback as a fourth quarterback in purple came in 2018 at Lambeau Field, where he threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns. The game ended 29-29, but it was Cousins ​​who threw the balls into small windows to make a tie possible. His first game-winning drive for the Vikings came on November 17, 2019 against Denver, when he led the Vikings from a 20-0 halftime deficit to a 27-23 victory.

Cousins ​​led the Vikings to three game-winning drives in 2020, four more in 2021, and led the Vikings to an astonishing eight game-winning drives in 13 wins in 2022. And who played quarterback for the Vikings when they won in overtime in New Orleans in the 2019-20 Wild Card round? Cousins, of course.

Cousins ​​now has a record of 4-10 as starting quarterback at Monday Night Football. and 13-20 in prime-time games. Cousins ​​has actually won two games in a row Monday Night Football games after leading the Vikings to a win over the 49ers in Week 7 last season. Six days later, he tore his Achilles tendon in Green Bay.

His last two trips to Philadelphia were both primetime games with the Vikings. Last season, Cousins ​​and the Vikings could not overcome turnovers, losing 34-28 in Football on Thursday evening in Week 2. In 2022, the Vikings were beaten 24-7 by the Eagles on Monday night in Week 2.

“I just try to play the best football I can, whether it's Sunday afternoon or a night game, no matter what day of the week it is,” Cousins ​​said. “You just try to do your best and go with it.”

The claim that Cousins ​​isn't good in prime time has always been unfair. If Monday night was more than just a football game, then it was a reminder that Cousins ​​can be as decisive as they can be when everything is on the line in the fourth quarter.