Kirk Cousins Hangs Tough in Win vs. Washington Comannders

O’Connell said the play illustrated the faith he and the entire Vikings team has in Cook to make a play – on the ground or otherwise.

“Huge trust in Dalvin,” he emphasized. “Kirk Cousins trusted him for a beautiful throw. We expected maybe a matchup versus a linebacker, but they played some dime defense with the sixth DB in there. And for him to win against the safety-type body there, maybe fight through a little contact when the ball was in the air, was pretty special. An unbelievable finish to that drive.”

Minnesota forced a three-and-punt by Washington on the following possession, then executed a long drive and excellent play-clock management leading up to a second Joseph field goal to take the final lead with 12 seconds left.

“I remember thinking, ‘With the way their defense is playing against us, a 10-point lead is going to be tough,’ ” Cousins said. “But I think combination of the explosive play on third down with Justin getting us down there, Dalvin making an unbelievable catch, Harrison’s interception, they were just kind of plays that snowballed together and got us back in the game.”