Chicago Bears: Has this defense ruined Kirk Cousins?

Does the Chicago Bears defense have Kirk Cousins’ number?

Kirk Cousins left Washington to sign with the Minnesota Vikings in 2018. He made history as the first NFL player to receive a fully-guaranteed contract. Fast forward to 2020 and it seems that this Matt Nagy led Chicago Bears team has the Vikings’ number.

In fact, this Chicago Bears team seems to not only have the Vikings number but more specifically, it appears Kirk Cousins might be ruined now. Alright, that might be a little extreme, but if we go back and look at what the Chicago Bears have been able to do versus Kirk Cousins, it is not very pretty for Cousins.

Cousins has faced this Chicago Bears defense five times since joining the Vikings. Over that span, Cousins and the Vikings have won only one game. He did not play in the final game in 2019 as the team rested players prior to the playoffs. The Vikings still lost that game, but obviously, Cousins had nothing to do with it.

It appears that when Cousins plays the Chicago Bears, his teammates lose faith in him and infighting ensues. In the game last week, while attempting to throw a touchdown to Justin Jefferson, an unknown teammate was caught on a hot mic screaming at Kirk Cousins to throw the ball. This was not the first time something like this happened though. I am sure everyone remembers the Adam Thielen and Kirk Cousins exchange in 2018, right?

With a 1-4 record versus the Chicago Bears, there’s no question he has struggled mightily versus this team. In the first matchup of 2018, Cousins threw for 262 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also sacked twice. The Bears won this matchup 25-20. Later in the year, Cousins threw for only 132 yards and a touchdown. The Chicago Bears also won this game 24-10.

In 2019, the Chicago Bears once again beat the Vikings in both matchups. As I stated, Cousins only played in the first matchup though. In this game, the Bears defense sacked Cousins a whopping six times. He threw for 233 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. However, he did fumble the ball twice and lost one of them. Cousins and the Vikings lost 16-6 that day.

Ruined, once again, might be an overstatement, but clearly, Cousins has struggled versus the Chicago Bears. This year he finally was able to beat the Bears while in a Vikings uniform, but he still did not look great. He threw two touchdowns an interception. The Vikings won 19-13 that game. Then this past Sunday the Bears won 33-27 and Cousins threw another two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked three times.

More frustration ensued and I loved it. Here is to hoping he sticks around in this division.