Vikings QB Kirk Cousins acknowledges he's entering make-or-break year

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins will fight to keep his NFL dream alive this season, even though he's possibly facing the end of the road in Minnesota.

"I used to sit there in middle school and look up at the stars in the summer," Cousins said Tuesday, via ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "[You would] see a shooting star, and everyone would make a wish. My wish was to be a pro quarterback. So I'm going to do all I can to maximize that, and shame on me if there was more out there to get and I didn't get it. So even if it ends after this year, I have to feel like I walk away with peace of mind that I did everything I possibly could, left nothing out there."

Cousins turns 35 on August 19 and enters the final year of his contract this season. The QB hired consultant Chad Cook as a full-time performance coach to boost his play in a pivotal year after taking long-distance instruction from Cook over previous offseasons.

"I was tired of doing the deal, you know, 'Send an email let me know what I need to do, I'll try to do it,'" Cousins said of the decision. "I was like...'You just got to hold my hand all the way through it all season long, and I can just show up. I have too many other things on my plate.'"

Cousins intensifying his training regimen may enhance his execution in big games. The QB went 11-0 in one-score games last season but failed to convert a fourth-and-8 with 1:44 remaining in a 31-24 playoff loss to the Giants. The four-time Pro Bowler has a 1-2 postseason record in four seasons with Minnesota.