Jets don’t have revenge in mind for snub by quarterback Cousins

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Kirk Cousins is coming to MetLife Stadium as a villain in purple and gold.

The Vikings quarterback was hotly pursued by the Jets in the offseason, with New York offering a massive three-year, $90 million deal to be the man to lead the struggling franchise. Instead, Cousins chose to go to Minnesota, which actually signed him to a deal worth $6 million less.

The details of his freeagency journey after six years in Washington were captured in a documentary series recently posted by the Vikings. It led to some harsh takes by New Yorkarea media for using the Jets as leverage, and will undoubtedly result in plenty of boos from scorned fans when Cousins takes the field Sunday. And the veteran quarterback is ready for it all.

“Criticism is going to be a part, especially when you’re going into an opposing team’s media climate,” Cousins said. “They’re going to find ways to criticize.”

Fittingly, New York is holding a Marvel-sponsored promotion Sunday with a Hulk (the Jets, of course) vs. Thor (the Vikings, of course) theme.

As everything turned out, though, Jets fans can’t be too disappointed by the snub.

After being turned down by Cousins, New York focused fully on the draft. The Jets swung a stunning deal with Indianapolis to move up to No. 3 overall and ended up grabbing Sam Darnold.

“Either you get him or you don’t,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We didn’t have him and we’re happy with Sam. I’m sure they’re happy with Kirk.”

Cousins has the Vikings off to a 3-2-1 start , and has thrown 12 touchdown passes and three interceptions. His 185 completions rank second in the NFL, one behind Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck.

The Jets know, in the back of their minds, that Cousins could’ve been doing that for them. Still, they insist there are no hard feelings or a sense of delivering some revenge.

“I don’t pay any attention to that,” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said. “The guy’s a competitor. He came from a position that he didn’t really like and made the most of it. I don’t hold anything against him.”

Meanwhile, Darnold has shown nice progress the last few weeks and made the Cousins situation a distant memory .

The 21-year-old rookie was 24 of 30 for 280 yards and two touchdowns with an interception last week in a 42-34 win over Indianapolis. His 80.0 completion percentage was the highest by a Jets rookie in a single game, and Darnold looks for his third straight outing with at least two TD passes.

“Yeah,” Darnold said, “everything worked out for the best, I think.”

Here are some other things to know as the Jets host the Vikings:

HOME COOKIN’

The Jets are looking to sweep a three-game homestand after wins against the Broncos and Colts. And they’ll try to do it against a team they’ve never lost to at home.

New York is 8-2 in 10 all-time meetings with Minnesota, including 5-0 at home.

“It’s huge,” Darnold said. “I think it’s safe to say we want to win every single game we play, but definitely on a homestand, winning every single game that we get at home because our fans are amazing.”

AN ANSWER FOR Q

Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa will miss the game with a sprained ankle that could sideline him for a few weeks.

It’s a big blow to the offense — especially Darnold, who had developed a nice rapport with him. Enunwa leads the team with 22 catches and 287 yards receiving.

Jermaine Kearse, who led New York in receptions last year, might be the immediate beneficiary. He caught a season-high nine passes for 94 yards last week.

Cousins