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The Minnesota Vikings are 0-3 after a brutal home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon.
It’s the first time the Vikes are 0-3 since 2020 and the seventh time in franchise history.
And there’s plenty of blame to go around, including to fans, according to starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Yes, starting running back Alexander Mattison has been an abject disaster. Yes, the defense still needs a lot of work under first-year coordinator Brian Flores. And sure, some breaks haven’t exactly gone Minnesota’s way.
But, really, it’s the fans and their dang crowd noise to blame, right Kirk?
Sunday’s 28-24 loss to Los Angeles came down to the final plays, with the Vikings just yards from a game-winning touchdown.
Cousins hit tight end T.J. Hockenson for a big 4th-and-5 conversion down to Chargers’ 6-yard-line with 41 seconds remaining. But it then took Minnesota nearly 30 seconds to get its next snap off.
When it did, Cousins again looked for Hockenson. Instead, the ball was tipped into the waiting arms of Kenneth Murray for a game-deciding interceptions.
Why did it take so long for the Vikings to get a play in and the ball snapped? Because the fans were too loud, according to Cousins.
“Just couldn’t hear him with the noise,” Cousins said of the play call from head coach Kevin O’Connell. “Just ended up calling a play, and the play I called was the same play he was trying to get to.”
O’Connell echoed the sentiment in his own post-game statements.
“Sometimes that happens,” he said said. “It’s not always noticed when we’re in a normal two-minute mode.
On one hand, Cousins likely has a valid point. U.S. Bank Stadium was incredibly loud at the time.
But you can’t just pass the blame to the fans here. That’s a brutal look for a QB who doesn’t need anymore bad PR these days.