Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins committed one of the bonehead plays of this NFL season in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers, lining up behind the guard instead of the center and realizing it so late that he had to waste a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty. Afterward, he didn’t have much of an explanation.
“We just didn’t get lined up properly and the play clock was winding down,” Cousins said. “I was just moving, trying to get everybody settled up and just got under the wrong guy.”
Really, what more can be said than that? Cousins isn’t the first quarterback to make that mistake, but to do it at such an important time -- on fourth-and-goal with the Vikings trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter -- was incredibly disappointing.
After the timeout, Cousins threw an incomplete pass over receiver Justin Jefferson’s head, and the Vikings missed their best chance to tie the game.