EAGAN, Minn. — Kirk Cousins was so locked in late Sunday he completed 12 of 13 passes for 136 yards with two touchdowns and a pass on a 2-point conversion on Minnesota's final two possessions.
On Thursday, he locked up NFC Player of the Week honors.
The Vikings quarterback had to wait an extra day because the Week 12 game between the Ravens and Steelers originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night was delayed by coronavirus complications until Wednesday afternoon.
Cousins helped Minnesota overcome an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Carolina 28-27.
He led scoring drives of 61 and 75 yards in the final period of the game, capping each with 10-yard touchdowns. The first was rookie Justin Jefferson's second score of the game and was followed with a 2-point conversion pass to Bisi Johnson, who filled in significantly for Adam Thielen's absence.
The second touchdown of the period and third of the day was the first of Chad Beebe's career.
Cousins and finished 34-of-45 passing for 307 yards with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 115.7.
It was Cousins' fifth consecutive game with a passer rating higher than 100 and helped him finish November with an NFL-best passer rating of 124.3. He completed 105 of 145 passes for 1,293 yards with 12 touchdowns during the month.
Minnesota won four of five games to improve to 5-6 on the season and position itself for a run at a Wild Card spot.
The Vikings claimed three of the five NFC Player of the Week honors during November, with Dalvin Cook bringing home the honor in Week 8 and Week 9 with the most prolific two-game stretch of running the football by any Vikings player (369 rushing yards).
Both figure to be in the conversation for NFC Player of the Month honors. That award was initially scheduled for a Thursday announcement but has been delayed until Friday.
This is Cousins' fifth NFC Player of the Week award and his first with Minnesota. He won NFC Player of the Month honors in October 2019.
Minnesota has had 19 different players claim 27 total NFL Player of the Week awards since Head Coach Mike Zimmer's hire in 2014.
VIKINGS NAMED NFC PLAYER OF THE WEEK UNDER ZIMMER
Defensive
Anthony Barr, LB
2014, Week 8, at Tampa Bay
Special Teams
Adam Thielen, WR
2014, Week 13, vs. Carolina
Special Teams
Marcus Sherels, PR
2015, Week 8, at Chicago
Defensive
Linval Joseph, DT
2015, Week 9, vs. St. Louis
Defensive
Terence Newman, CB
2015, Week 10, at Oakland
Special Teams
Blair Walsh, K
2015, Week 16, vs. NY Giants
Defensive
Everson Griffen, DE
2015, Week 17, at Green Bay
Defensive
Eric Kendricks, LB
2016, Week 1, at Tennessee
Offensive
Stefon Diggs, WR
2016, Week 2, vs. Green Bay
Defensive
Everson Griffen, DE
2016, Week 3, at Carolina
Defensive
Xavier Rhodes, CB
2016, Week 11, vs. Arizona
Offensive
Sam Bradford, QB
2017, Week 1, vs. New Orleans
Special Teams
Kai Forbath, K
2017, Week 7, vs. Baltimore
Defensive
Harrison Smith, S
2017, Week 16, at Green Bay
Defensive
Harrison Smith, S
2018, Week 1, vs. San Francisco
Defensive
Danielle Hunter, DE
2018, Week 9, vs. Detroit
Offensive
Dalvin Cook, RB
2018, Week 15, vs. Miami
Defensive
Anthony Harris, S
2019, Week 1, vs. Atlanta
Special Teams
Dan Bailey, K
2019, Week 5, at NY Giants
Special Teams
Dan Bailey, K
2019, Week 8, vs. Washington
Offensive
Dalvin Cook, RB
2019, Week 10, at Dallas
Defensive
Danielle Hunter, DE
2019, Week 14, vs. Detroit
Special Teams
Dan Bailey, K
2019, Week 15, at LA Chargers
Special Teams
Mike Boone, RB
2020, Week 4, at Houston
Offensive
Dalvin Cook, RB
2020, Week 8, at Green Bay
Offensive
Dalvin Cook, RB
2020, Week 9, vs. Detroit
Offensive
Kirk Cousins, QB
2020, Week 12, vs. Carolina
