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Kirk Cousins has been healthy for every game of the last six NFL seasons, making 95 starts in that span and playing in all but one regular-season game except the 2019 finale, when he rested with the Vikings having nothing on the line.
There is variation in his play from game to game and sometimes series to series, but at the end of the year you pretty much know what to expect from a veteran QB like Cousins at this point: something like his six-year average of 4,268 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
On Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast, Chip Scoggins and I took a look at three big questions hanging over Minnesota sports heading into the late summer and fall. At the top of that list, followed by the success of Gophers football and what the Twins will do at the trade deadline, was the make-or-break year being faced by the Vikings.
What makes this upcoming season particularly fascinating is that it has a high level of volatility. But I think most of that volatility comes from outside the Vikings and not from within.
We know what the Vikings are under Cousins and more importantly under Mike Zimmer: a team that wants to control the ball, play efficiently and win with a stout defense. They got away from that formula last season with injuries and questionable roster decisions decimating the defense. But they've reloaded the defense this season while keeping the offense largely intact. They have an identity and will try to win with it.
What we don't know is what to expect from the rest of the NFC North, particularly at the all-important quarterback position.
The Packers and Aaron Rodgers of course top that list. Playing in a celebrity golf match on Tuesday, Rodgers again gave a cryptic "We'll see" answer when asked about his future with Green Bay. If he doesn't play for the Packers in 2021, the entire dynamic of the division race changes.
The Bears? They could be formidable if rookie Justin Fields takes control of the starting job early. If he's not ready, and Andy Dalton starts a bunch of games, Chicago feels like (at best) an 8-9 team.
Even the Lions, after trading Matthew Stafford and adding Jared Goff, are unpredictable.
That's 35% of the Vikings' schedule. The volatility of QBs in the division could be the difference between Minnesota going 8-9 (or worse) and 10-7 (or better), which in turn could be the difference between the franchise staying the course or going a whole new direction.
