Doubts about manipulation and expectations of a ‘hostile’ crowd: Cousin talks return

When Kirk Cousins ​​returned to Washington for the first time after six seasons with the franchise, he wasn’t sure where the visitors’ locker room was located. It was a familiar stadium, one he had been to countless times, but an unfamiliar experience.

Cousins ​​expects a similar feeling on Sunday when his Atlanta Falcons visit the Vikings at US Bank Stadium.

“I had been to Washington stadium many, many times, but I had never been to it like that, I felt a little bit like a rookie in that sense,” Cousins ​​told reporters on Wednesday. “It will have the same feel, I assume, on Sunday where it’s – I’ve been here many times but this way this is the first … But at the end of the day you’re there to play a football game and play your best and win and that’s where your focus is at the end of the day.”

Cousins ​​and the Falcons will try to make it three games when they face the Vikings in Minneapolis on Sunday, and Cousins ​​will individually try to bounce back from a four-interception dud in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last week. For Cousins, bouncing back from that performance is like bouncing back from any other low point in his career, which he has done time and time again. “You have to believe that tough times don’t last, tough people do,” he said.

“We’ve got to get back on track and the best we can do is get another game here, so I’d really love to play (Wednesday), how much you want to get back out there and get this taste. out of your mouth,” Cousins ​​said. “That’s what we’re chasing on Sunday is a much better outing and they’re not going to give us that, I know that.”

As for his expectations, aside from a tough game against a 10-2 Vikings team, the crowd at US Bank Stadium is loud.

“They’re big fans, they’re great football fans,” Cousins ​​said. “I would think they would make it as hostile as they can for us. It’s a great fan base.”

Among other expectations, Cousins ​​said one thing that makes the return trip unique is the amount of people he knows in the area. Usually, the experience of playing on the road can be lonely, where you don’t have many connections. Cousins ​​clearly knows members of the Vikings staff and roster, as well as plenty of people in the Twin Cities.

Cousins ​​also tries to stay in touch, though he had jokes when a reporter asked him if he still talks to Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.

“I don’t even know the rules today with manipulation, do I?” Cousins ​​argued to much laughter from the media at his press conference. “… I have friends in the league with other teams, so I don’t know if friendships are allowed or not. But yeah, I try to relate to people around the league, legally, and I don’t know, I guess on that if it’s illegal to text your friend, then I’m sorry, but yeah, I try to keep in touch with a lot of people there, and (O’Connell’s) definitely one of them.