Kirk Cousins' time on the field this season is likely over. During the Minnesota Vikings' 24-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the quarterback was carted off the field with what is feared to be an Achilles injury. An MRI is expected to confirm the diagnosis soon. If this is the case, Cousins' season is done. During the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field, Cousins started scrambling in the pocket when he suddenly pulled up and fell to the ground. After being tackled by defensive tackle Kenny Clark, Cousins hopped to the sideline without putting any weight on his right leg. He was replaced by rookie Jaren Hall, and had gone 23-of-31 for 274 yards with two touchdowns before he went down.

The early wave of Sunday games was rough for quarterbacks across the league, with five starters going down with serious injuries. Atlanta Falcons starter Desmond Ridder left their 28-23 loss to the Tennessee Titans early to be evaluated for a concussion, Matthew Stafford was knocked out of the Los Angeles Rams’ 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys with a thumb injury, New York Giants backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor was taken to a hospital in a 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets after a rib injury, and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was ruled out of their 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars with a rib injury.

Assuming Cousins' injury is confirmed, he will have finished the year with 2,057 yards and 16 touchdowns with five interceptions. This is his sixth season with the Vikings, and he had never missed an NFL game due to injury until 2021 when he missed one due to a positive COVID-19 test. Jaren Hall is expected to take Cousins' place in the immediate future. Hall, who the Vikings took in the fifth round of the draft earlier this year out of BYU, went 3-of-4 for 23 yards in the win Sunday.