If the Minnesota Vikings knew all it would take to get Kirk Cousins to throw the ball to his dynamic receivers was for Adam Thielen to publicly call him out, they would have suggested he do that a while ago. After feeling that criticism from Thielen and then apologizing to him, Cousins seemed determined to feed him the ball.

Last week, Thielen had just two catches for six yards, but on Sunday he had his biggest game of the year with seven catches for 130 yards and two scores. Thielen didn't have that many catches in the previous two games combined.

Cousins had his best game as well, as Sunday was his first contest of the season with 300+ yards and multiple touchdowns. We learned that if Cousins comes into a game unafraid of his own ability to throw the ball and trusts his receivers, the Vikings look like a legit team. He was also able to post his highest completion percentage of the season.

Having one of the best wide receiving cores in the league and a solid tight end in Kyle Rudolph, Cousins should be able to trust his receivers will catch the ball and be able to make plays when they get them. Not to mention he has Dalvin Cook in the backfield who has been tearing up the league and is currently the league's second-leading rusher.

With the weapons around him, Cousins should be a confident quarterback rather than one that seemed afraid to throw the ball. Minnesota gave him a three year, $84 million dollar, fully guaranteed contract for him to throw the ball.

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I get it, they did this against a New York Giants defense that sits among the bottom of the league but they were able to defeat them in convincing fashion, which is all you can really ask for.

Next week the Vikings will host the Philadelphia Eagles who are struggling with their secondary as well. While these matchups are favorable for Cousins, if he can do exactly what he was able to execute on Sunday, it poses a good sign that will give him confidence that he can do it against better defensive teams in the future.

The Vikings coaching staff must also believe in Cousins. They must allow him the opportunity to throw the ball as well as make some mistakes.

That is the give and take with Cousins and if they want to get the best out of him, it is the course of action they must take.