Cousins cost Minnesota the completion of a comeback from a three-touchdown deficit at Green Bay on Sept. 15, when his second interception of the game came on an off-balance throw into end-zone coverage on first-and-goal late in the fourth quarter of a 21-16 defeat. Since that iffy first month of the season, though, Cousins has played as well as nearly any quarterback in the league. He helped the Vikings withstand the extended injury absence of star wide receiver Adam Thielen and lapses in their pass defense, clinching a spot in the playoffs for just the second time in five full seasons as a starter with two teams.