The Minnesota Vikings’ offense was nowhere to be found Sunday afternoon in Chicago.
Yes, the Bears feature arguably the NFL’s best defense and present an unfavorable matchup for pretty much every team across the league. But the Vikings, who only mustered up 222 yards of total offense against their division rival, looked beyond anemic, and Adam Thielen seems to believe a below-average passing attack might be to blame.
The star wide receiver understandably is irked by how things have been going for Minnesota through the air thus far, and he appeared to throw a little shade at Kirk Cousins while airing out his frustrations following the Vikings’ Week 4 loss.
Adam Thielen: "At some point, you're not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL. That's when you have to be able to throw the ball. … You have to be able to hit the deep balls."
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) September 30, 2019
Cousins, who signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million deal prior to last season, played more like a game manager than a true franchise quarterback in Minnesota’s first four contests. The veteran signal-caller is averaging roughly 183 passing yards per game and only has logged three touchdown passes. The Vikings aren’t in a horrendous spot at 2-2, but given how impressive the rest of the NFC North has looked through one quarter of the campaign, they’ll need Cousins to kick his game up more than a few notches if they hope to claim a division crown.
Minnesota faces a favorable matchup in Week 5 when it visits the New York Giants, who own one of the NFL’s weaker pass defenses. If Cousins is unable to excel Sunday afternoon in the Meadowlands, it might be time to grow concerned in the Twin Cities.
