Welcome to Week 14 grades!
This was supposed to be the week Kirk Cousins got revenge on his old team. Instead, the Vikings showed they made the smart decision to move on from their former quarterback. Sam Darnold was the quarterback who replaced Cousins in Minnesota, and he left on Sunday, throwing for five touchdowns in the Vikings’ 42-21 victory over the Falcons.
In the victory, Darnold accomplished multiple things that Cousins never accomplished during his six years in Minnesota:
- Darnold was the first Vikings quarterback with five or more touchdown passes in a game since Daunte Culpepper in 2004.
- Darnold now has four consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes and zero interceptions, which is the longest single-season streak in franchise history.
- Darnold is now the first QB to start 11-2 or better in his first season after switching teams since Brett Favre in 2009. Favre also did it with the Vikings. In his first 13 games with the Falcons, Cousins has Atlanta going 6-7.
With that in mind, let’s get to the ratings, starting with Minnesota’s big win:
