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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Kirk Cousins’ career seemed at a crossroads when he tore his Achilles tendon during his last visit to Lambeau Field.
That he’s returning three years later, again as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, is a testament to the veteran quarterback’s tenacity. Five days after Minnesota reacquired him from the Las Vegas Raiders, Cousins will try to help the Vikings (6-2) snap a two-game skid on Sunday and complete a regular-season sweep of the Green Bay Packers (6-3).
“Knowing that that was where I was carted off and had thoughts of: ‘Is this my last game? And my last game as a Viking?'” Cousins said. “To be back there wearing the purple and gold, it has meaning. But you have to go make it mean something by the way you play.”
Cousins’ Achilles injury came during a 24-10 victory on Oct. 29, 2023, that marked his last game with the Vikings. He was in Atlanta from 2024-25 before spending the first half of this season at Las Vegas.
Now he will try to boost a Vikings offense that hasn’t scored more than 16 points in any of its last three games.
“He’s been calling plays in some different offenses over the last couple of years, so we’re working through just getting him comfortable, getting him up to speed,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “He’s really smart. A lot of things come back quick to him.”
The Vikings don’t have time to ease Cousins back into this role as they attempt to win the unforgiving NFC North, where the Packers are still in last place even after winning five of their last six games.
That puts divisional matchups at a premium, and Green Bay already lost 39-22 at Minnesota in the season’s opening week. The Packers gave up the final 29 points of that game as Minnesota’s pass rush continually got to quarterback Jordan Love.
Love believes he knows what it takes to beat this defense, but he also understands the enormity of the task.
“You’ve got to hit explosives, you’ve got to get a run game going and you’ve got to protect,” Love said. “Those are like the key things to playing this defense and taking care of the ball. I think all of those things are huge. Like I said, they live in the world of chaos and trying to make you confuse and get you in some third-and-long situations where I think that’s where they’re at their best.”