Vikings' Kirk Cousins: Stellar numbers in Week 1 loss

Cousins completed 33 of 44 passes for 344 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while adding three rushes for seven yards in the Vikings' 20-17 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday. He also lost two fumbles.

The Vikings' day was essentially an ongoing contradiction between the stat sheet and the scoreboard, and Cousins' performance was a fitting microcosm of such. The veteran signal-caller was highly efficient while averaging 7.8 yards per attempt, and his passing yardage total was more than those from all but three of his games from last season. However, Cousins' pair of first-quarter fumbles were each damaging, with the first short-circuiting a drive that had reached the Buccaneers' 26-yard line and the second coming at his own 21-yard line and leading to a Tampa Bay field goal. Cousins did encouragingly connect with rookie first-round pick and new No. 2 receiver Jordan Addison for a 39-yard touchdown among his two scores, but he'll have an uphill battle to replicate his performance with a Week 2 Thursday night road matchup against the Eagles on tap.