Kirk Cousins

Vikings Snap Counts: Inconsistent O-line sank Cousins, offense

Published Jan. 2, 2019 12:01 p.m. ET

Kirk Cousins' performance in his first season with the Minnesota Vikings is already inspiring fierce debate amongst fans and analysts, but his offensive line's play isn't.

Once again, the group struggled mightily to keep their quarterback upright and sustain a consistent running game.

Right guard Mike Remmers was the only member of the O-line to miss fewer than 150 snaps -- that's 2-3 games worth, depending on the week -- playing 99.71 percent of the time.

Center Pat Elflein (82.11 percent), left guard Tom Compton (79.64 percent), and left tackle Riley Reiff (75.45 percent) missed time.

Their backups played frequently. The damage: Tackle Rashod Hill (50.33 percent), guard Danny Isidora (20.36 percent) and center Brett Jones (18.17 percent).

One of the group's few bright spots, rookie right tackle Brian O'Neill (76.12 percent) started 11 games.

Cousins was sacked 40 times this season, tied for 10th in the league, while the Vikings allowed 95 quarterback hits, good enough for 15th.

But while the passing game suffered, the running game was often nonexistent.

The Vikings averaged just 93.3 rushing yards per game, and were particularly ineffective on the left side, logging 20 running plays to that side for negative yards, third in the league.

It's tough to shift much of the blame onto the running backs.

Dalvin Cook (46.72 percent) and Latavius Murray (43.86 percent) ultimately split the workload, as the former once again battled injuries, starting just 10 games.

Other notes from this season's snap counts:

-- Fullback C.J. Ham (13.23 percent) was the only other runner to log significant playing time. Rookies Mike Boone (3.43 percent) and Roc Thomas (2.76 percent), as well as midseason pickup Ameer Abdullah (0.57 percent) played sparingly.

-- Adam Thielen (96.19 percent) was the only Vikings pass-catcher to play at least 1,000 snaps.

-- Third-year receiver Laquon Treadwell (51.67 percent), who was expected to have an increased role this season, saw his share of the snaps rise just 9.74 percent.

-- Veteran Aldrick Robinson (23.98 percent), brought in after Week 2, outpaced several of the Vikings' younger receivers.

-- Training camp/preseason darlings Chad Beebe (4.38 percent) and Brandon Zylstra (1.62 percent) played sparingly.

-- Safety Harrison Smith (98.56 percent) led the defense in snaps for the third straight season.

-- Defensive end Danielle Hunter (84.41 percent) saw his share of the snaps increase 7.11 percent, and earned his first Pro Bowl nod.

-- Cornerback Mackensie Alexander's (54.38 percent) playing time jumped 20.52 percent over last season with starters Xavier Rhodes (74.11 percent) and Trae Waynes (66.6 percent) missing significant time.

-- Undrafted rookie Holton Hill (36 percent) also got a long look at cornerback.

OFFENSE

PLAYER	Plays (1051)	%
Cousins	1051	100.00%
Remmers	1048	99.71%
Thielen	1011	96.19%
Rudolph	925	88.01%
Diggs	9	83.16%
Elflein	863	82.11%
Compton	837	79.64%
O'Neill	800	76.12%
Reiff	793	75.45%
Treadwell	543	51.67%
Hill	529	50.33%
Cook	491	46.72%
Murray	461	43.86%
Robinson	252	23.98%
Morgan	231	21.98%
Isidorra	214	20.36%
Jones	191	18.17%
Conklin	146	13.89%
Ham	139	13.23%
Beebe	46	4.38%
Boone	36	3.43%
Thomas	29	2.76%
Coley	19	1.81%
Zylstra	17	1.62%
Smith	9	0.86
Abdullah	6	0.57

DEFENSE

PLAYER	Plays (1039)	%
Smith	1024	98.56%
Hunter	877	84.41%
Kendricks	875	84.22%
Barr	808	77.77%
Rhodes	770	74.11%
Richardson	718	69.10%
Waynes	692	66.60%
Joseph	669	64.39%
Harris	623	59.96%
Griffen	584	56.21%
Alexander	565	54.38%
Weatherly	523	50.34%
Hill	374	36.00%
T. Johnson	342	32.92%
Wilson	336	32.34%
Sendejo	324	31,18%
Gedeon	309	29.74%
J. Johnson	260	25.02%
Hughes	243	23.39%
Kearse	202	19.44%
Iloka	116	11.60%
Holmes	58	5.58%
Bower	53	5.10%
Parry	50	4.81%
Sherels	29	2.79%
Brothers	5	0.48