Cousins ​​historic in Atlanta Falcons win over Buccaneers, just ‘scratches the surface’

Kirk Cousins ​​entered the Atlanta Falcons locker room, where he received his first hug from owner Arthur Blank. The 36-year-old quarterback took a few steps forward, looked into the room and spoke three words that electrified the group in front of him.

“You like that?” Cousins ​​shouted, a reference to his oft-touted line from Oct. 25, 2015, after he staged a 24-point comeback to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Lightning struck twice.

Cousins ​​was just moments away from leading the Falcons to a 36-30 overtime victory over the Buccaneers on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

He needed a few more moments as he led a nine-play, 46-yard drive in just over a minute to set up kicker Younghoe Koo’s game-winning 52-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

By and large, Cousins ​​had just delivered a performance consistent with the four-year, $180 million contract he signed in the spring — a contract that put his name in Atlanta’s record books.

“That’s classic Kirko,” receiver Drake London said after the game. “I’m glad we got to see it tonight and I’m glad he got the win.”

At halftime, Cousins ​​was 21 of 28 for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He had already set a new season high in passing yards when former Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor at halftime.

When Cousins ​​returned from the locker room, he got to work — and beat one of Ryan’s records in the process.

Cousins ​​completed 42 of 58 passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He set a new franchise record for completions and passing yards, the latter surpassing Ryan’s mark of 503 yards against the Carolina Panthers in 2016. The former surpassed Matt Schaub’s 39 completions in 2019.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said after the game that he believes Cousins ​​has much more to accomplish.

“It’s okay,” Morris said with a smile. “We’re just scratching the surface with him.”

Cousins ​​proved particularly effective in the fourth quarter and overtime. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 239 yards, leading to game-winning and game-winning drives.

Cousins’ final pass of the night was one of his best. It was low and outside, right where receiver KhaDarel Hodge had to avoid final coverage from cornerback Zyon McCollum.

Hodge made the catch for five yards. He turned and ran for another 40 seconds, but didn’t stop until he crossed the goal line. A large portion of the squad crowded around him in the end zone.

Cousins ​​began his pursuit. He quickly turned left and looked for Morris. The two hugged each other. For Morris, the overarching theme from Thursday night is growth.

Not just in Atlanta’s history books, but also in Cousins’ relationship with offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, his confidence in his surgically repaired Achilles and his comfort in an offense full of new faces.

“Just confidence going out there and his game is getting better every week,” Morris said of what Cousins ​​showed on Thursday. “He’s been doing that since he got back. He’s coming off a serious injury and I’ve seen him get better every week.”

“Every single week it was better, whether it was the explosiveness, the execution, whether it was just a rhythm and a routine with him and Zac and our offensive staff. It’s getting better and better. This happened today.”

The Falcons failed to score an offensive touchdown in their 26-24 win over the New Orleans Saints last week. In the last three games starting Thursday, Cousins ​​passed for between 230 and 241 yards. Atlanta’s air raid was ineffective, as was the entire offensive.

But against Tampa Bay the unity was anything but good.

The Falcons converted a season-high six third downs while going 2 of 3 on fourth down. Atlanta recorded 28 first downs, surpassing its previous best of 22. The team finished the game with 550 net yards of offense – its most since Week 15 in 2016 – after not having a game over 385 yards to start the evening had played.

Four different Falcons had at least six receptions, with London leading the way with 12 receptions for 154 yards and a score. Receiver Darnell Mooney had nine catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Kyle Pitts set season highs with seven grabs for 88 yards. Slot receiver Ray-Ray McCloud added six catches for 66 yards.

Atlanta has boasted such versatile weapons all season long. It finally clicked on Thursday – something Cousins ​​sees as an integral part of the unit’s development.

“I think we spread the word,” Cousins ​​said. “I think we’re built to involve a lot of people. We have great confidence in several players with good skills. It was a pretty tough fall back, it was spread out, and I was proud of the way it went.” The guys fought, made plays, pushed through and caught difficult catches.

“We took another step this evening.”

Atlanta completed 81 plays, including 58 passes. Both posted season highs by a significant margin – and helped the offense achieve the same in several statistical categories.

“I think the key is we have more hitters,” Cousins ​​said. “We had a few games this season, there were about 50 of them, so 30 more games. That’s like another third of a game. It just gives you more chances to spread it, get the guys involved and be productive.”

“We talked about the fact that we need to be on the field to produce an offensive performance. To be on the field we need to avoid penalties and convert third downs. We were able to be on the field more, which made a difference.

Atlanta scored touchdowns on four of its 11 drives and settled for field goal attempts on five additional drives. When Cousins ​​threw in an interception in a desperate attempt on 4th-and-15 during the second-to-last drive, the Falcons fumbled only once – thanks largely to Cousins ​​and the passing brigade.

Morris described Cousins’ performance as “outstanding,” both overall and on the winning ride. Hodge knew Cousins ​​was at that level from the start.

“I was on the sidelines when I wasn’t there, so I started watching the show myself,” Hodge said. “I thought, ‘Oh, he’s hot tonight,’ and I said, ‘You’re getting him going.’ He got going and I didn’t know he was at .500 [yards]“But congratulations to Kirk, he took over tonight and that’s a big deal.”

The Falcons are now atop the NFC South and have not only survived a difficult five-game stretch, but also emerged better from it. Cousins ​​said he was happy with the 3-2 score and Thursday night’s win made the long weekend even more enjoyable.

But Atlanta’s path to breaking its six-year playoff drought is still in its early stages. After the little farewell, the Falcons cap off their three-week journey through the division with a road trip to Charlotte, where they await the Carolina Panthers next Sunday at 4:25 p.m.

However, that’s a conversation for next week. For now, Cousins ​​is focused on appreciating Thursday nights — from swag surfing and iconic quotes to setting franchise records in just his fifth game as a Dirty Bird.

“We still have a lot of football ahead of us, so we gave ourselves a little boost and took a step in the right direction,” Cousins ​​said. “Now we have to build on that. But there is still so much football ahead of us.”

“You’re going to enjoy those two or three days and then go straight back to work and keep your foot on the accelerator because if you let up it can hurt you. I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.”