The Kirk Cousins and John DeFilippo era in Minnesota started with a bang — and a quick touchdown.
Cousins, the marquee free-agent signee of 2018, led the Vikings down the field on an 8-play, 75-yard drive with three plays that gained 20 or more yards. He capped the drive with a quick slant to Stefon Diggs for a 1-yard touchdown.
Cousins also connected with Diggs for gains of 6 and 28 and hit fullback C.J. Ham for a gain of 7. Cousins was 4-for-4 for 42 yards with the score and a whopping passer rating of 150.0 before swapping his helmet for a baseball cap.
Latavius Murray accounted for the other plays that gained 20 or more. The big back ripped off consecutive runs of 20 and 21 yards on his first two carries of the preseason.
The Vikings signed Cousins in March, a month after hiring DeFilippo as offensive coordinator.
DeFilippo came to Minnesota after helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII as Philadelphia's quarterbacks coach.
The Vikings utilized quick passes behind an offensive line that hasn't had much experience together. Minnesota opened the game with LT Riley Reiff, LG Tom Compton, C Cornelius Edison, RG Danny Isidora and RT Rashod Hill.
Reiff started all 15 games for the Vikings in 2017, and Hill started seven of the 11 he played last season.
Compton is a veteran from Rosemount who signed with his hometown team this offseason. Isidora was drafted in 2017 and started one of the seven games he played as a rookie. Compton and Isidora took reps at both guard spots during training camp while Nick Easton was at center for Pat Elflein (Physically Unable to Perform List).
After Easton suffered an injury that will land him on Injured Reserve, Edison stepped in the middle. The Vikings then placed Compton at left guard and Isidora at right guard with the first unit.
