Kirk Cousins won a big game by leading his Minnesota Vikings to a road win over the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs on Sunday, which led his teammate to defend him.
Cousins made two huge throws in overtime — one a big gain to Adam Thielen to take the ball down to the two. The other was a perfect touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph on a fade in overtime to win the game (one that had some fans complaining). The strong throws and big performance helped quiet a narrative about Cousins not being able to beat good teams and win big games.
“I’m just glad Kirk can’t win big games, apparently. I think we proved that one wrong today,” Rudolph said in his postgame interview with FOX’s Chris Myers. “I’m proud of Kirk blocking out the noise, coming down here and playing huge all game.”
Rudolph also played up the team’s underdog mentality, saying nobody believed they could win.
“Nobody gave us a chance to win today, except everybody in our organization. We believed.”
The Vikings were big underdogs in the game; the Saints were favored by more than a touchdown. Few expected the Vikings to win, but they did. And Cousins proved his value with a big game, going 19/31 for 242 yards and the winning touchdown in OT.
