Dropping back with less than a minute to play against the Lions on Sunday, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins expected he might find Adam Thielen open on a deep out route. But he saw K.J. Osborn pulling away from former Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes, raising his hand to call for the ball.
Cousins let the ball fly with a defender converging on him, unsure if he'd put enough on it to lead Osborn to the end zone. "Please be far enough," he said to himself, trying to coax it like a golfer might with an approach shot as the ball traveled through the air.