Quarterback Kirk Cousins' third Vikings season will end Sunday without a second playoff appearance, but he will have delivered on at least one of the reasons General Manager Rick Spielman signed Cousins to be the solution under center.
When Cousins starts Sunday against the Lions, he'll complete six straight years without missing a regular-season game because of injury. That spans 95 starts — 47 for the Vikings, a franchise that before Cousins hadn't had a full-time passer complete three straight healthy seasons since Fran Tarkenton in the mid-1970s.
"There have been a lot of answered prayers along those lines," Cousins said.