The Minnesota Vikings have a new quarterback. The Green Bay Packers might have the most dangerous duo on offense. The Los Angeles Rams finally have their dominant duo on defense.Â
Each week, I dive into the All-22 coaches’ film before offering a few insights to watch. Here are three developments that could be long-term storylines involving some of the best teams and players in the NFL.
Christmas came early for the Vikings, who received a huge gift in the form of Kirk Cousins via a desperate trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. The deal reunites Minnesota’s old QB1 with Kevin OConnell, as the frustrated head coach and offensive playcaller tries to revive a dormant offense that has scored only 11 offensive touchdowns this season.Â
Although some would call a third-round pick a hefty price for a 38-year-old quarterback nearing the end of his NFL run, the Vikings putrid offense has desperately needed a point guard to spread the ball around to a collection of electric playmakers who have been stymied by miserable quarterback play since the start of the 2025 season.Â
While Kyler Murray was expected to jumpstart the unit, the two-time Pro Bowler has been injured and ineffective since Week 1. And with Carson Wentz virtually unplayable as a fill-in on Monday night, the Vikings were forced to bring back their old franchise quarterback to see if he can save their title hopes with rock-solid pocket play.Â
Despite coming off his worst performance of the season in Week 9 against the 49ers, Cousins is an upgrade over his predecessors because of his scheme knowledge and willingness to force-feed the ball to Justin Jefferson on the perimeter. The veteran enjoyed a stellar run with KOC in 2022, throwing for 4,547 yards and 29 touchdowns while leading Minnesota to a 13-4 record. Jefferson was the biggest beneficiary of Cousins’ presence, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors after tallying 128 receptions, 1,809 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Cousins was producing at an even more prolific rate in 2023 through eight games (2,331 yards, 18 TDs, 5 INTs) before tearing his Achilles, which marked the end of his first stint with the Vikings.
While it is unlikely Cousins can hit those numbers at his advanced age, he arrives in Minneapolis having thrown for multiple touchdowns in seven of his nine starts with the Raiders this season. As a touch-and-timing passer with great anticipation, Cousins will enable KOC to work the middle of the field with traditional drop-back and play-action concepts. Additionally, his familiarity with the offense should allow the Vikings to use the back pages of the playbook, leading to more “scheme it up” touchdowns to wideouts Jefferson and Jordan Addison and tight end T.J. Hockenson on exotic play designs.Â
With Cousins also understanding the nuances of the system and how to get the offense into the perfect call against bastardized looks, the Vikings overall efficiency should improve with a better pre-snap process at the line. Whether that means calling a run into a “light box” or checking into the perfect “hot” route to counter a blitz, Cousins experience and expertise should bode well for an offense that has struggled to move the ball, much less put points on the board.Â
Granted, KOC and Cousins will need time to get on the same page after spending so much time apart, but the chemistry and connection between the playcaller and playmaker should lead to better play from a unit that simply requires competent quarterback play. While achieving postseason success with Cousins is a daunting challenge (he has won just one of his four career postseason starts, and those were all during his prime), the 6-2 Vikings desperately needed the veteran back to give them a chance to make a run this year.Â
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has emerged as an MVP candidate in 2026, but the ascension of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden as the leagues most explosive receiving duo is
