The Minnesota Vikings’ success this season has defied all odds. The team is 12-3 on the season, already locking up the NFC North division and having an outside shot at earning the No. 1 seed in the conference and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

There has been some luck involved in that success as Minnesota’s performance more closely resembles a .500 team than one with 12 wins. That is because the Vikings’ point differential on the season is only +5, which makes winning as many games as they have seem almost impossible.

When the Vikings have lost, they have had their doors blown off, losing each game by at least 11 points. Conversely, they have only one victory by that amount as Minnesota has gone 10-0 in one-score games this season.

While Lady Luck has certainly been on their side, as they have gotten plenty of breaks when needed, a big reason they have succeeded in close games has been the performance of quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins has been excellent in crunch time this season, showing up when the team needed him most.

In the fourth quarter and overtime this season, Cousins has thrown for 1,407 yards and 12 touchdowns. According to PFF, both of those stats are in first place in the league.

Minnesota’s defense has been leaky at times this season, as they are ranked 28th in points allowed and 31st in yardage surrendered. If they are unable to clean things up in that regard, they are going to need Cousins to continue slinging the ball to keep up with their opponents.

Cousins is having another strong season, as he has completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 4,117 yards and 27 touchdowns. The Vikings need him to continue playing at a high level and performing late in the game if they are going to make as deep of a run into the postseason as they are hoping.