5 reasons Vikings can win the Super Bowl this year

1. Take care of the football

There are some quarterbacks who understand how to take care of the football when a sack is inevitable. There are others that have had issues holding onto the pigskin in the face of a heavy pass rush. And unfortunately for seven-year performer Kirk Cousins, he has fallen into the category off the latter.

Over the past four years, the former Pro Bowler has started 64 consecutive contests for the Washington Redskins (48) and Minnesota Vikings (16). In those games, he’s combined for a blazing 67.8 completion percentage. He’s thrown for an impressive 17,474 yards – 4,000-plus each season – and easily more than twice as many scores (111) as interceptions. He’s also ventured out of the pocket 153 times for 446 yards and 14 touchdowns while being sacked on 130 occasions. The latter figure averages out to just over two times per game.

But in those 64 appearances there have been a disappointing 40 fumbles, 18 lost. Cousins has put the ball on the ground at least nine times each season. He’s been sacked a combined 81 times the past two years, committed 21 fumbles and lost 12 of those miscues. In his first year in the Twin Cities, he lost seven of his nine fumbles.

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As mentioned earlier, the Vikings will need to perform much better on the offensive line. And Cousins has to cut down on the mistakes. Five of his 17 turnovers were returned directly for touchdowns (3 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles), a big reason Mike Zimmer’s club allowed 341 points this past season compared to an NFL-low 252 points in 2017.