Cousins spurns, then burns Jets
After turning down offseason offer, he leads Vikes into first
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mike Zimmer gathered his players around him in the locker room and let them in on what they just accomplished.
The Vikings, he told them, had never defeated the Jets on the road — until Sunday. Kirk Cousins and the rest of his teammates broke out in big cheers to celebrate a 37-17 victory.
“Winning on the road is important in this league,” Cousins said, “and I was glad we were able to do that.”
Cousins threw two touchdown passes, Latavius Murray ran for two scores and the Vikings (4-2-1) pulled away in the second half for their third consecutive victory and sole possession of first place in the NFC North.
It wasn’t the best performance of the season by the Vikings’ highpowered offense, but it was certainly good enough against a Jets team that had four turnovers — including interceptions by Harrison Smith, Holton Hill and Trae Waynes.
“Anytime you score 37 points on the road, you’re doing something right,” Cousins said. “But there are times where it wasn’t good enough. We are so grateful for defense and special teams today because it gave us the opportunity to go out and score points.”
Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen became the fifth player in NFL history to get at least 100 yards receiving in seven consecutive games, catching nine passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Murray, coming off career-high 155 yards rushing against the Cardinals, finished with 69 yards on 15 carries to help lift the Vikings to their first road win against the Jets after losing the first five meetings away from home.
In his first game against the Jets (3-4) since spurning their massive offer in free agency, Cousins was far from spectacular, but he made some big plays late. With the game still hanging in the balance and the Vikings facing fourth-and-eight from the 34-yard line, Cousins connected with Aldrick Robinson for a touchdown to seal it.
Cousins, who went 25-for-40 for 241 yards, opted to turn down the Jets’ three-year, $90 million deal in the offseason and instead chose to go to the Vikings, who signed him to a deal worth $6 million less. The Jets insisted this loss didn’t sting any more than usual because it was against Cousins.
“We don’t care,” Jets linebacker Darron Lee said. “We only care about us and this team. Don’t try to make this about him. We don’t care. No one ever spoke about that all week. No one cared.”
After Cousins made his decision, the Jets turned their attention to the draft, where they selected Sam Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick.
In their first meeting, Cousins came out on top — while Darnold struggled on a cold, windy day.
The rookie was 17-for-42 for 206 yards with a touchdown pass to Chris Herndon and a touchdown run, but he was intercepted three times as the Jets’ two-game winning streak ended.
“I’ve just got to find completions,” Darnold said. “That’s really it. And we’ve got to do a better job executing.”
Thielen reached his milestone with a 21-yard catch in the fourth quarter. He joined the Lions’ Calvin Johnson (eight, 2012), the Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas (seven, 2014), the Cowboys’ Michael Irvin (seven, 1995) and the Oilers’ Charley Hennigan (seven, 1961) to accomplish the feat. He and Hennigan are the only players to do so in his team’s first seven games to open the season.