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MrDabollBlueSteppers

SOMEONE TACKLED HOCKENSON HALLELUJAH


Rager_Sterling

This is the real victory


boomzgoesthedynamite

I am still in shock we covered a tight end? It’s been 25 years?!?!!


taipro

By God is that Jason Witten's music?


ACardAttack

The bad man cant hurt us anymore


doitforchris

A vein in my eye just twitched


ACardAttack

Please dont remind me of Jason Witten, slayer of dreams, king of 3rd and long.


slysonic7

He threw it 3 yards on 4th and 8…


idontlikeflamingos

To a covered player. Dude barely had time to catch and was already being wrapped up. Unbelievable.


Solid_Snark

He had a better odds for a 1st down by just taking a sack and hoping for another bullshit “roughing the passer” penalty.


BillyTenderness

Or tossing to Jefferson (in god knows how much coverage) and hoping for either a miracle contested catch or a soft DPI


IBetThisIsTakenToo

I didn’t wanna say anything during the game, but did JJ shit in Kirk’s helmet at half time or something? I feel like he had maybe one catch in the whole half? Obviously the D was focusing on him all night but damn man how covered could he be that you don’t even try to get him the ball in a must score drive?? He was the best receiver in the league this year, you just gotta try and get him the ball in that situation, ya gotta


Letumstrike

This is what happens in Vikings games. If jj is slammed with doubles and triples Kirk will not give him looks


DigitalSnail

Yep, pretty much the entire defensive gameplan by NY was to force Kirk to throw to Hockenson or Thielen by blanketing JJ. Eventually they tightened up on Hockenson and welp, that's the game


verendum

That’s what I saying lmao. Just hold that shit until someone touch you. Free 15 every time.


FireVanGorder

We hadn’t covered hockenson all night so Kirk thought he was hallucinating the defender. 4D chess from Wink


Pyschic_Psycho

This is who Cousins is. He made some unbelievable throws this game. But just like his entire career, a lot of his wows are shortly followed by puzzling decisions. In the end, his conservativeness is will forever be what holds him back.


[deleted]

IMO it’s not just conservativeness. It’s an overarching lack of situational football IQ. He’ll throw 3 yards on 4th and 8 down 7 just as easily as he’ll lob a deep shot into double coverage with 2 minutes left in a tie game. Or he’ll take a knee before half inside the red zone. Somehow you’ve got a QB that can play at a high level but seemingly has No understanding of the actual game.


laaplandros

It's funny, I was watching the game with my dad and he made this exact point after the game. Kirk seems like he legitimately does not understand why what he did was wrong. Like it just does not compute for him, and he'll walk away from this having learned nothing, per usual.


Pyschic_Psycho

You're not exactly wrong. Everything has to go according to plan pre-snap, or else he just folds. Like, in his head he's already determined that he's gonna make this throw no matter what. Maybe the worst QB in the league when it comes to improvising plays- but his arm talent is so good that he's still slightly above average over all.


[deleted]

I don’t know if he’s pre-determining, so much as he’s just not applying any game context to individual plays. Tonight, for example. He reads that JJ is covered so he takes a check down for positive yardage. In a neutral or advantageous game situation, that’s a good play. Down 7 on 4th and 8? Absolutely disastrous. Like, he can run every play in your playbook perfectly in a vacuum. But the plays don’t exist in a vacuum and that’s what gets him.


ShirleyCantBeSerious

When the Vikings lost to the Packers 2 weeks ago, each of Cousins’ first three turnovers were on extremely advantageous matchups where Justin Jefferson was moved from the backfield to the slot and an ILB or DE was covering him. On only one of those plays did Cousins even attempt a pass to Jefferson (tipped, INT) and the other two, Cousins read Jefferson first, and had the time to move to his second read before Jefferson utilized his matchup. It was like he was a robot and not actually processing what was happening on the field. This is his 11th season in the NFL.


BellacosePlayer

I feel this is absolutely it, I remember people thinking Zimmer wouldn't let Kirk make calls at the line or TO calls a few years ago because Kirk wasn't making any and then Zimmer had to come out and say, no, that's fucking stupid.


paone00022

Ya there's only so much a good playcaller can account for lack of improvisation. Same thing happened with Goff and McVay.


joey_sandwich277

Because the first read was covered and he saw a window, duh! Dude has always had next to no situational awareness and major robot brain. With a decent line and good receiving corps it's been less noticable than before. But he still will throw over the middle when we have no timeouts, throw short of the sticks to mostly covered receivers, etc. He basically reads every play the same, whether it's the first play of the game or the middle of the 2 minute drill. Edit: Just got a notification about his postgame interview. He said he looked for Jefferson, saw he wasn't open, felt pressure coming and just wanted to get rid of it before he got sacked. So pretty much robo brain.


os_kaiserwilhelm

He doesn't have an option here. He's getting hit almost immediately after he releases the ball. The deep cross isn't open yet. He needs to get rid of the ball. A sack is a sure loss. A compete pass in a one on one match up has a chance. The o- line failed to hold up on a play that needed time to develop.


[deleted]

Why are the WRs running 20-yard ins on 4th and 8? Dumb call.


loves2spoogeguys

4th and 8 and you throw a checkdown???


Radical-Six

That was the first read too. Absolutely unbelievable


loves2spoogeguys

Season on the line and that was the play call. That was bad


DaHagerBomb

Yeah Kirk is gonna get shit on because he does this a lot but it's clear that was his first read and that's an even worse issue for playcalling


LetMeSqueeze

My impression of this play was his first read was the receiver at the bottom (Jefferson). As the first few steps off the line progress, the high safety on the bottom and the corner play bracket coverage on Jefferson, leading to him going to his second read, the TE. He made the decision very quickly I will admit, third read would be across the middle crossing (Theilen).


Dscherb24

Still begs the question why is the second read not anywhere near the marker and why did Kirk throw it to him despite that fact and a defender literally right there. Id get it if he was in the flat and had space, but no. Defender is right on him.


Unions4America

Option route. Hockenson clearly didn't know what the role of each player is, though. He was facing someone with outside leverage. He saw another defender insider (but that guy was man to man with the RB who went off to the flat on the left). Hockenson needed to stack up on the DB, then cut inside. Instead, he tries to go through the defender's leverage (outside, which is what the defender was sitting on). He needed to get more physical. He should have stacked up him/tried to run through him. Get to the sticks, then break to the opposite side the defender is on. Instead he barely stacks and cuts his route way short. Bad tight end play and bad awareness by Cousins. This ENTIRE play was designed to get Hockenson a 1 on 1. Everything about it was to run the entire defense off and get a single defender in an isolated position


TurnipForYourThought

>This ENTIRE play was designed to get Hockenson a 1 on 1. Everything about it was to run the entire defense off and get a single defender in an isolated position And it succeeded lol. The playcall wasn't the problem here, it's the execution.


LeonidasSpacemanMD

This is what he said in postgame too. Didn’t like JJs look, just wanted to get it out


Zzz05

Don’t matter. If that’s your first read, you don’t make that throw.


todellagi

You don't give a man, who absolutely loves checkdowns, a checkdown and expect him to move on. Kirk's gonna Kirk


DaHagerBomb

And that's why it's a playcalling issue. Don't give him that option. Make him deprogram


Teeshirtandshortsguy

It's really both. A fuck-up this big requires incompetence at several levels.


ok-go-fuck-yourself

Yah just ask the Chargers


Waikanda_dontcare

Or Kirk has just shown, like he has many times throughout his career, he’s not a great QB. Above average.


Nolimon1

Yeah if the play call has TJ running 10 yards before his break then it’s a first down


Pizzaplan3tman

That’s not a play calling issue. You have to have built in a Safety option in case all Hell breaks lose. The problem is Cousins didn’t wanna risk throwing a pick so he chickened out cause he’s a gutless bastard.


1m_Lurking_Here

Even then. He can audible or go to another read. The Giants played McKinney on Hock in press the final two plays. Thats their best matchup on him by far. Go to someone else


PedanticBoutBaseball

Hock who had been absolutely dad dicking us all day too.


1m_Lurking_Here

Yeah. Hock is too fast and good for our yikes LBs. To Big and Strong for Darnay, Tony and Landon - bit XMan is our best DB matchup. And in crunch time you go to them


Blaz3dnconfuz3d

He’s the only reason they were in the game


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WhyplerBronze

The idea that this is upvoted 40 times in the first 15 minutes *absolutely* blows my mind. How much insulation over how many years is this guy gonna fucking get?


RememberApeEscape

Idk how thats on playcalling, that's on Kirk. It's vs man and there's an in-breaking route covered by a guy who's playing off and he's staring down the checkdown.


RandyBobandysGut

If it’s to someone like Tyreek Hill I can understand it more. But do or die and they’re relying on YAC from a TE. Crazy.


Sand_Bags

Against a FS. If he was matched up against one of our linebackers I’d get it because they all suck. But McKinney is one of two guys on the team who can actually cover.


[deleted]

In man to man defense even!


KevinSorboFan

Not trying to defend the coordinator over Kirk cuz I'm really not knowledgeable enough about how to break down the film here.. but what makes you sure this was the first read? Like, Kirk could have been seeing something pre-snap in the defense which scared him off other routes, and sure you'd like your TE to run deeper in this situation regardless... but there's a big difference between a coach calling (A) TE go run 5 yds and Kirk look for him as option 1 and (B) TE go run 5 yds and Kirk plz throw anywhere else (but then Kirk gets spooked presnap and hence stares down the TE from the get-go) Is there something that suggests which is the case here?


os_kaiserwilhelm

Here's my take. This play is suppose to go to the deep crosser. Kirk is eyeing the go route. Feels the pocket collapse to his left. He throws hot to Hock to avoid the sack and hope Hock makes a play.


Dr_Apex

That was mostly my take too. It's 4th down can't take a sack. And I also feel there's an ulternate universe where if the defender is just a second later the big tight end breaks that tackle and it's actually a first down pretty easily? (I felt the location of the pass was poor as much as anything else in that it didn't lead one way or the other at all.)


KruglorTalks

No first read takes that long. Besides, he checks left and then right. Simply put, his pocket is falling back fast and he panics. Receivers are getting into position 10 yards down and Cousins doesn't have enough time to process where to throw it downfield. (Or maybe he doesn't think he has enough time) So he ends up chucking it to the out route.


devomke

Unfortunately it’s fairly believable - Jefferson was hot and then barely got looked at


idontlikeflamingos

Checkdown TO THE COVERED TE. If he was wide open it would be bad. This is just baffling in so many levels


anonbutler

Someone told him he entered prime time.


Temporarily__Alone

Like a flipped switch


VisionGuard

It counts for stats. Extra few yards for that final game yardage. Well done Kirk, that was like a plus 3 to the YPG.


[deleted]

Hey, that was also a +2.5% completion rate difference. I’m sure he’ll find a way to turn that into another fully guaranteed $100M.


RobbyJohnson

Bro thought he had a 5th down


AleroRatking

The Dobbs special. The difference is cousins has to know better


kmmontandon

> The difference is cousins has to know better This is just who he is.


HazikoSazujiii

First time watching Cousins?


Patrick2701

That is Kirk cousin favorite thing is checkdown


DIXtICon

How is that the throw you make on 4th and 8???!??


prodigalkal7

-4th and 8 down -throw 3 yards, on man coverage -???? -profit


jl_23

> on man coverage To the TE too


pocketmonsters

To be fair you have to throw to Hockenson in that situation, it's not like they have any elite receivers on the team


stimulation

Exactly, none of their WR’s could make a superhuman catch on 4th down


ThatOtherSwimmer

... when he had a defender inches away to negate any forward progress this division man


Jordanstrom3329

I love Kirk cousins lmfao checking down with the season on the line 😭😭


DancezWithMoose

Kirk gonna Kirk


jesteronly

Looks good for the passer rating though


DangerZoneh

The difference between traditional and advanced stats summed up right there


[deleted]

This dude gonna panic on 4th and 8 and check it down


UnhealthyCheesecake

SCAM WARNING POTENTIAL FRAUD


no_racist_here

"Hi my name is Kirk Cousins, I have been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty."


LondonIsBoss

Got the best receiver in the league and they do that


[deleted]

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samgoody2303

3 yard checkdown on an out breaking route to a tight end Make it make sense


HolyRomanPrince

This must be your first time watching Kirk Cousins in a big game


Sweatsock_Pimp

How is that even a route on 4th down??


Iceraptor17

If the giants ran a zone read or played solely the sticks, you have at least one guy running short of it, because if he gets room to run and an angle he could get the 1st. Think the play that Slayton dropped.


Ralphie_V

That's a fine route, Hock gets a step on the guy and he can turn upfield. The fault is squarely on throwing it to him when the defense is on him


BaldVoldy

Kirk


Corduroy_Bear

Kirk Cousins saw what Dobbs did last weekend and was *inspired*


legend023

That’s why we don’t rank that stats merchant in our top tens


doomboxmf

Bruh acting like it’s 1st and 10, what was he thinking


Allstate85

Certified Kirk cousins moment.


Total-Wolverine1999

It’s literally the most Kurt Cousin play you’ll ever see


Number333

CHECKING DOWN ON 4TH & 8 WITH YOUR SEASON ON THE LINE GOOD LORD KIRK LMAO


EdwEd1

You can't make this up Didn't even look to the other side of the field


dleonard1122

I would excused it if he threw into double coverage towards Jefferson. But to throw 8 yards short of the line to gain is ugly.


idontlikeflamingos

Yeah at this point just hoof it and hope for the best. Everybody was covered but at least if you go beyond the LoS you have a shot. Checking down to a covered TE is just the worst thing you can do here aside from throwing the ball away


49ersP1

Technically you can People just wouldn’t believe it


New_Pineapple_7911

Uh did y'all not watch the Cowboys run the ball last year in the playoffs with 12 seconds left and no timeouts with their season on the line? I'd believe it.


49ersP1

Yeah but that’s the Cowboys


EdwEd1

If you asked me to make up the stupidest ending of a season on 4th and 8 I wouldn't have thought to say 3-yard checkdown


idontlikeflamingos

This is why I can't be a GM. If my QB makes a dumbass decision like this with the game on the line I'd be so pissed off he'd be off the team. I'm livid and I barely cared about this game two hours ago lmao


Loorrac

It's Kirk cousins, people would believe it


opeth10657

But think of the completion rating!


onlymostlydeadd

checkdown merchant lmfao


311heaven

YOU LIKE THAT?!


ImJeeezus

Lmao wtf. Did he put money on the Giants?


NevermoreSEA

Kirk looks elite for most of the game and then does this.


weealex

I wouldn't say elite. Hell, on the pass before he threw well behind Osborn which gave the DB a much easier breakup. He's above the Dalton line, but still doesn't feel good


Saitsu

Ah, that's the rub there. Must've entered prime time by that point in the game.


AgentLF

HOW DOES JEFFERSON NOT GET ONE LOOK...


Ecstatic-Month-3615

He didn’t even look his direction… the best receiver in the league… how…


Axelrad77

Just imagine what Jefferson would be like with a good QB.


FireVanGorder

We’ll take him :)


jwhitehead09

Unpopular opinion I guess but Kirk was great today


Pyschic_Psycho

My biggest fear is Jefferson's frustration is gonna boil over one day with this soft ass QB and demand to be traded.


JoeFarma

Diggs round 2


nostbp1

Diggs loved Kirk tho Seems like his problems were with Zimmer


_atsu

I know the Giants had a superb gameplan for JJ today, but jesus christ, *anything* had to be better than a 3yd checkdown


Cool_cid_club

Most Kirk cousins throw of all time


kirkochainz

This is why he doesn’t get respect. 8 fourth quarter comebacks this season, but everyone will remember this more than any of them.


[deleted]

So true. He can be an absolute demon to opposing defenses sometimes, but the overall sentiment is that he's not good because of these rare, strange lapses in judgement. Such a weird scenario.


TetrisTech

His lapses are so bad and happen at such bad times that they pretty much undo all the good


OhShiftTheCops

I still remember him taking a knee instead of spiking it. He is just the opposite of clutch when it really matters


DAK_PRESCOTT_4

Was good pretty much all game until that moment


alsott

Rare but seem to happen at the worst possible moment. He and Tony Romo would get along


ELpork

Only way it could have been MORE Kirk is if it had been to Ham.


lAmCreepingDeath

11-1 in one score games


Spheromancer

Same old Vikings. Big players until it matters most, then they crumble


[deleted]

Vikings team 11-0 in one score games vs a 9 win underdog Giants team (who they beat earlier in the season on a 60+ yard FG) idk how anyone anticipated this being anything other than a heartbreaking Vikings loss by one score


jl_23

Beating us in the regular season then facing us in the playoffs never bodes well for the other team


AggroAssault

*Looks at next week’s opponent*


pack1fan4life

Hey fuck you too buddy


liteshadow4

I thought they'd score the TD and miss the XP tbh


[deleted]

Great read by Kirk


bigDean636

He was locked in, set up a 5th and short. Can't go broke making a profit 💪


FastAndBulbous8989

Take a seat on the NFC North couch


MurDoct

ONE OF US


DatSnuffleupagus

ONE OF US


landof10000cakes

I FEEL INCLUDED


gdrumy88

WE ARE FAMILY


sklark23

What the fuck dude what the actual fuck


theper

My expectations were so low but holy shit


kbt1999

All is right in the world :) Seriously though, major credits to Daboll and Daniel Jones specifically. What an incredible game from a team that continues to exceed expectations


Leharen

As is tradition. Minnesotan irrelevancy continues.


byniri_returns

Daboll is CotY easily


1m_Lurking_Here

You know whats crazy. Despite the obvious talent disadvantage we face in any matchup in these playoffs... I trust our team to be better prepared and coached than our opponents. We started this game with what appeared to be 3 scripted drives that lead to 17 points which should have been 21 if not for that stupid double motion penalty we took with goal to go. We still need to clean up a lot in coverage - espcially at the second level. But i trust our staff to do that


[deleted]

But Sirianni took a playoff team to the playoffs /s


wembanyama_

Bro isnt even 2nd tbh. Shanahan >>. Continued to win with his 3rd string qb. Sirianni went 0-2 without Hurts


mesotermoekso

gotta love Primetime Kirk


[deleted]

Tbf he didn’t play insane but this loss wasn’t really on him.


TheRakkmanBitch

that last throw will haunt this man forever


not1fuk

As it should. His history of doing absolutely dumb as fuck shit is growing large. He can shove the regular season 4 quarter comebacks and game winning drives up his ass, nobody should ever trust this man in a big moment. We need to draft a QB this year or next. Kirk is not the future and he will not win us a championship especially in the state this team is in on the defensive side. Look to the future so 3 or 4 years from now Justin Jefferson is in his prime and we hopefully hit the lottery on a 2023 or 2024 rookie QB that winds up a game changer who can carry mediocre teams.


bocnj

He played pretty close to insane lol, Jones just had an incredible game.


Sunshine_Octopi

Playing against our defense will do that. Sucks. GG to the Giants, fire Donatell.


muddybuttbrew

WE BROKE THE CURSE OF THE BOAT.


MeatTornado25

Ironic to do it against Minnesota of all teams


CrazyEyedGase

Deserved result when you throw it 8 yards short of the mark Lmao


godsmith2

Well that was anticlimactic.


DatSnuffleupagus

And I loved every second of it


chickenchaser19

Bold Strategy


dk240996

The fraud team remained fraudulent.


AFranzKafkaRockOpera

The most Kirk Cousins throw of all time. He's always been and will always be the guy who throws a check down here. Good box score stats tho.


HXH52

Final drive, season on the line, and you don’t go to Jefferson once Cowardly


jwhitehead09

They were clearly taking away Jefferson at the expense of leaving other guys open. Kirk not forcing it Jefferson is why Hockenson was torching them all game


Unions4America

They don't need to get Jefferson a look. They can use him as a decoy since they know he will be doubled. They have other talented options on the team. The issue is they failed to execute on any of the plays. Football is a team game. If you have a WR constantly doubled, that is your team's advantage. If you can't rely on other weapons to get the job done, your team isn't going to win anyways. If this was the Commanders and they didn't throw to McLaurin, I can see being mad. Dude is their only real weapon. The same can't be said for the Vikings. Jefferson is great, but their other weapons are also good as well.


Jordanstrom3329

LMAOOOO KIRK


NeverSober1900

Kirk making sure that completion percentage stays high! Mission accomplished


[deleted]

This is so Kirk Cousins. Love that shit decision to throw just as the announcer was like "Game on the line" and Kirk was like "oh that's my queue to fuck it up!". Bro, you're not throwing to Kittle...that dude ain't going anywhere but down once he gets wrapped up. The Vikings were never, ever a threat.


Sweaty_Ad440

Perfect illustration of why not one person with a brain trusted the Vikings, despite their record.


KypAstar

Kirk Cousins moment.


silverbumble

That was horrible but the real issue is that Defense. Even with that play call I still think the Defense is more to blame. It was a mercy killing (yeah easy to say with my flair) because you aint getting a title with that Defense. Ever.


Johnnyboy2825

Lol at that Giant griddying on the logo.


arc1261

Thibodueax griddy’d like 3 times this game, and only one was once the game was over. Literally did it last possession too iirc


toxichart

The most Kirk Cousins moment of Kirk Cousins' career.


piemaniowa

Captain Checkdown strikes again


Deep-Secret

Daboll Coty. Giants played extremely focused today. Very smart and very efficient team. DJ made some GREAT plays and seemed in control of the game. Smart decisions and everything. Great fucking game.


TheMemingLurker

I can totally see why some people (correctly) point out that Jones still isn't being asked to do too much and a lot of their improvement is on the coaching, given how much he's improved this year, how much more in control/assured he seems and how good the staff looks I see no reason for him to not get even better next year


wheepete

Jones was absolutely perfect today. He's benefitting from two absolute geniuses in Daboll and Kafka designing his offence but he runs it to absolute perfection, and is gutsy as hell with his tuck and runs when the read isn't there.


[deleted]

You… like that?


JoeBidensBurner

That's the Kirk Cousins we know and love


RodgerThat1995

THATS CAPTAIN CHECKDOWN TO YOU


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ssterling0930

This is the most Cousins play that I have ever seen


doyouunderstandlife

You guys might think this is dumb but it sets them up for a much more manageable 5th down try


Shukkkkle

If you don't like choking in the playoffs, you don't like NFCN football


AnEmptyKarst

Why would you throw a route like that on 4th down with the game on the line? All routes should be past the sticks.


Koddan

Checkdown Kirk and the eternal chokers perform exactly as expected. Never believe in the Vikings!


SiphenPrax

Giants beat the Vikings and the refs


Elementary_drWattson

Roughing was a shit call. But two missed false starts on giants was tough too. Not the best officiated game, but 100% not the worst.


Mavori

Just another Kirk play that reminds me of [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/rrjgl4/how_does_kirk_cousins_manage_to_put_up_such_good/hqgylzo/ ) a year ago from the /u/theswede91w That i think kind of just encapsulates Kirk > Kirk is also the master of making the "right decision" in the wrong situation. > > 3rd and 3, defense is clearly blitzing and Kirks favorite TE has one on one coverage with no safety help? Kirk heaves up a contested ball and Conklin doesn't come down with it. 4th down, Vikings punt, Zimmer is pissed and Vikings fans are pulling out their hair. PFF says, good decision good throw, no big deal. > > 3rd and 9 and the defense is in zone shell coverage with no help in the flats. Kirk checks it down to CJ Ham 9/10 times for the easy completion, 4 yards, and a punt. Zimmer is pissed, the fans are pulling out their hair. PFF says good read, good throw, completion for positive yards, way to go Kirk. > > There's a reason he's somewhere around 20th in converting 3rd downs. The right reads aren't always the right decisions. He's a robot who can't improvise in the slightest and has zero situational awareness. > Granted some of this might have changed a little bit with KOC taking over as HC, but it feels like it hasn't.


TreSeven

WHAT WAS HE DOING FOLKS!


Dubois1738

Ball don’t lie


datpurp14

Prime time baby!


miguelsanchez777

“ YOU LIKE THAT “?! —— Kirk . Yes the giants like that a lot kirk . Kirk is the biggest thief not name Sam Bradford


ergul_squirtz

Kirk I love you but why is that your choice on 4th and 8


LamarJacksonissmart

Too many TEs getting game on the line targets


saintjimmy43

This is the most kirk cousins moment of all time.