Vikings eying Kirk Cousins trade to lead team to latest playoff disappointment

The Minnesota Vikings have the league's best defense. Brian Flores' unit is the most aggressive in the NFL. It blitzes at an absurd 72.5 percent rate -- no other team tops 44 percent . It leads the league in expected points added (EPA) allowed and has given up fewer points than any other NFL team. It is, undeniably, Super Bowl worthy. The Vikings offense, however, is not. A string of plug-and-play quarterbacks and the failure of J.J. McCarthy, Franchise Quarterback (tm) has led to a revolving door of veteran passers in the Twin Cities. Sam Darnold worked out. This year's Kyler Murray-Carson Wentz platoon has not. Murray's hamstring injury gave way to Wentz on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills. He completed eight of 25 passes, threw for 83 yards and an interception and, somehow, that stat line fails to capture just how bad he truly was. A 6-0 start has given way to a two-game losing streak. A passing offense with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at the top of the depth chart ranks 29th in passing efficiency . Something needs to change in Minnesota. That may require a trip back to the past. Kirk Cousins was a very good quarterback with the Vikings in a way that didn't matter. He went 50-37-1 in the regular season there as a starter. He was named to three Pro Bowls and helped Justin Jefferson leap from rookie first round pick to one of the league's top wide receivers. But Cousins couldn't be the driving force that made good Minnesota teams contenders. He led an overtime road win over the New Orleans Saints in 2019, but shrank after briefly proving he could make the throws that divide winners from losers. He needed 29 attempts to throw for only 172 yards in the Divisional Round matchup that followed, getting sacked by the San Francisco 49ers six times in the process. Cousins and the Vikings didn't return to the postseason until 2022. There, he became the only quarterback in league history to lose a playoff game to Daniel Jones. He was set up for two potential game-tying drives in the fourth quarter in that Wild Card matchup. He completed seven of his 10 passes in that stretch... for all of 23 yards. Now, Cousins is four years older. He eventually recovered from the torn Achilles that ended his Vikings run and limited him with the Atlanta Falcons. But he's been inconsistent with the Las Vegas Raiders, thanks in part to one of the league's weakest wide receiver corps. Betting on him to revive his career at age 38 is a rough wager. Given the alternatives, it may be the best the Vikings can do.