The Tampa Bay Buccaneers thought they had finally said good riddance to Kirk Cousins when he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency this offseason.
Cousins, who had spent the last two seasons with the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons, has been the Buccaneers’ kryptonite over the course of his career. Some of his best performances have come against Tampa Bay, and the Bucs were thrilled to see him leave the division.
Cousins wasn’t initially on the Buccaneers’ schedule this year, but after being sent to the Minnesota Vikings at the trade deadline, Tampa Bay could be on a path to facing its nemesis in the wild card round of the playoffs.
Kirk Cousins has made a habit of tormenting the Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are 3-6, so perhaps it’s foolish to look ahead and assume they’ll make the postseason in the first place. But playing in the lowly NFC South and facing one of the NFL’s easiest remaining schedules, it would be a major disappointment if Tampa Bay couldn’t secure the division title.
If they do win the division, the Bucs will almost certainly be the NFC’s No. 4 seed, pinning them against the No. 5 seed in the wild card round. That spot is shaping up to belong to whoever comes in second place in the NFC North, and there’s a good chance that’s the Vikings, who currently sit at 6-2.
Facing off against Brian Flores’ ferocious Minnesota defense is intimidating enough, and the possibility of facing Cousins makes that matchup even more unfavorable.
In 2025, Cousins led a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback at Raymond James Stadium, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons toppled the Buccaneers 29-28.
Back in 2024, Cousins had the best statistical game of his career against Todd Bowles’ defense, completing 42-of-58 passes and throwing for a whopping 509 yards and four touchdowns to lift the Falcons past the Buccaneers in overtime.
Cousins’ reign of terror against Tampa Bay goes all the way back to 2015, when the Buccaneers blew a 24-0 lead and Kirk Cousins led his Washington Redskins all the way back to a 31-30 victory. He threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns in the game that birthed his famous “You Like That?” celebration at the Bucs’ expense.
October 25, 2015: “You like that!”
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) October 25, 2023
Washington comes back from 24-0 down to beat the Bucs 31-30. pic.twitter.com/Xm6ZzUlyCV
Something magical happens to Cousins whenever he’s facing the Buccaneers. In six matchups, he has a 4-2 record while throwing for 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions averaging 340 yards per game. He’s thrown for 300-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in four of his six matchups against Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers want to keep that bad mojo as far away from Raymond James Stadium as possible in a potential playoff run. As Tampa Bay gears up for the NFC South title race, Bucs fans will have their fingers crossed that the Vikings finish anywhere except the No. 5 seed.
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