To say that the Minnesota Vikings struggled in Week 2 is an understatement. The Philadelphia Eagles ran circles around the Vikings, with cornerback Darius Slay leading the charge with a masterclass defensive performance shutting down Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson. Nevertheless, quarterback Kirk Cousins has to play better, throwing three interceptions (with only touchdown) on a rather wasteful 27 out of 46 on pass attempts, having been outdueled by Jalen Hurts.

However, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell is hopeful that Kirk Cousins performs better, especially when they have a better idea of what to expect from their Week 3 opponents, the Detroit Lions, who are coming off a 36-27 victory against the Washington Commanders. The Eagles' pass rush, in particular, proved to be troublesome for Cousins, but O'Connell believes the Vikings' O-line will be better equipped to deal with that kind of pressure.

“[The Eagles] did a nice job with kind of some timely all-out pressure. We felt good about our plan to handle [it].” O'Connell said, per the Star Tribune. “But then there's one thing to feel good about it on paper or out here, but then we've got to make sure our guys are prepared and ready to handle it in real time, and that's where I think we'll continue to grow as a group and something I've got to do a better job of.”

Guard Ezra Cleveland knows he has to step up, and he knows that the coaching staff has done a good job of preparing them for more of the same against the Lions in order to help ease the pressure on Kirk Cousins, especially with the Vikings playing in front of their home crowd.

“We're kind of expecting that this week,” Cleveland said. “It'll be easier at home, too, talking to each other across the line up on the ball. The crowd noise last week made it kind of hard, but I think we did a pretty good job communicating.”

One Lions player the Vikings should be on the lookout for is Aidan Hutchinson, who had three sacks against Carson Wentz and the Commanders. Nonetheless, Vikings fans will be hoping that Kirk Cousins and the rest of the Vikings can execute the plan Kevin O'Connell and his staff had put forth to combat the blitz in order to get back to winning ways.