NFL trade deadline winners and losers: Vikings go full dadcore with Kirk Cousins in Super Bowl quest
Seattle’s Quenton Nelson trade may hit its own unfortunate deadline The Seattle Seahawks needed to revive a run game that has been below average since the team let last season’s Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker III, walk to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Key points
- In a dispiriting loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Vikings saw their tremendous defense go to waste, as Carson Wentz completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 8.9.
- It was one of the worst quarterback performances in recent history, and it continued a run of recent QB futility for the Vikings, from JJ McCarthy to Kyler Murray to Wentz.
- Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is out-scheming every other coach in the league right now with his laboratory of blitzes and coverages.
Cousins enters an NFC North that may be the most brutally competitive division in NFL history, but if he plays like he has this season so far, the Vikings have more than a puncher’s chance.
Additional details
- Most, but not all of them, have improved their chances After what happened on Monday night, the Minnesota Vikings had to do this.
- The Vikings rank first in scoring defense (116 points allowed), but they’re 27th in points scored (146).
- But it’s starting to matter less and less, because opposing offenses know that you can wait that defense out when there’s no juice on the other side of the ball.
- The 38-year-old is in his 15th NFL season, and he’s not quite the player he used to be, but he’s a massive improvement over everyone else in the Vikings building at his position.
- Related: Joe Burrow is reviving the Bengals and pulling away in the race for MVP As for the Raiders, they essentially pick up a free third-rounder after signing Cousins to a one-year, $11.3m fully guaranteed contract, and selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the 2026 draft.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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