National Football League

Kirk Cousins, one of Tom Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 5, cements spot as Falcons' QB1

Published Oct. 9, 2024 2:43 p.m. ET

It's amazing what a 500-yard game will do to put concerns about a quarterback to rest.

Kirk Cousins' prolific night last Thursday in a 36-30 overtime win over the Bucs was enough to put the Falcons in first place in the NFC South. On Tuesday, he was selected as one of Tom Brady's 3 Stars of Week 5. On Wednesday, he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

After five weeks of close games, Cousins' progress is another example of him outlasting critics and challengers.

"His game is getting better every single week," Falcons coach Raheem Morris said after the win. "That's what he's been doing since he came back. He's coming off a significant injury, and I've watched him get better every single week. Every single week it's been better, whether it's been explosive, execution, whether it's just a rhythm and routine with him and [offensive coordinator] Zac [Robinson] and our offensive staff. It's just getting better and better."

Cousins threw for a team-record 509 yards against the Bucs, as well as four touchdown passes, matching his total from the first four games of the season. He hadn't thrown for more than 241 in the first four games, but his numbers after five games show how well he's connected with receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney.

The Falcons haven't had a 1,000-yard pass-catcher since tight end Kyle Pitts in 2021, but London and Mooney are both now on pace to top 1,000 yards, and on course for 10 touchdowns each. When the Falcons wrote the biggest check of this year's free-agent class to get Cousins for $180 million over four years, the hope was that he could take Atlanta's offense — and the rest of the franchise — to a level not seen since Matt Ryan's departure three years ago.

Tom Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 5: Kirk Cousins, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Surtain

"We don't blink, just straight resilience," London said. "So I'm really, really pleased. If one aspect of the team is not doing too hot, or maybe something just went wrong, the other's going to pick them up, whether they're special teams or defense. So I'm really, really happy how we just came together as a team."

The Falcons have played all five games within one score of their opponents, and their ability to close out wins under such tight circumstances may be the most promising part of Cousins' start in Atlanta. Against the Eagles, Atlanta was down six and saw Cousins lead the offense on a 70-yard touchdown drive in 1:39 to take the lead with 34 seconds left. Against the Saints just four days before the Bucs game, Atlanta trailed by a point with a minute left before Cousins led the team on a 30-yard drive to set up the winning field goal with two seconds left.

And against the Bucs, the Falcons were down three with 1:14 left and no time-outs, and Cousins went 5-for-8 for 55 yards to set up the tying field goal with 0:01 left to send the game to overtime. There, he went 3-for-3 for 69 yards, including the winning 45-yard score to receiver KhaDarel Hodge for the win. In all, he went 8-for-11 for 124 yards and a touchdown in the final 2:20 of the game.

"Kirk, man, you got that clutch gene in you right now," Brady said when naming Cousins to this week's honor roll. "All season long, in all three of their wins, he's had game-winning drives. Unbelievable effort."

Resiliency has been a part of Cousins' entire career. He was the second quarterback Washington drafted in 2012 after first-rounder Robert Griffin III, and he started only nine games in his first three seasons, going 2-7 with more interceptions (19) than touchdown passes (18). But he took over in his fourth year, and led the team to the playoffs that season, earning his first Pro Bowl a year later.

He had a great five-year run in Minnesota, but his season ended early last year with a torn Achilles tendon. Going to Atlanta on a huge contract, he still had doubters, not only from his injury but when Atlanta used the No. 8 overall pick in the draft to take Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., already lining up a quarterback of the future before Cousins had taken a snap.

Kirk Cousins on leading Falcons over Bucs in OT, throwing for 509 yards

A game like Thursday's is what Cousins needed — personal success to put the team in first place, with a relatively easy game against the Panthers this week to build on that. Cousins has been around long enough to know the lift of a single win only lasts until the next game.

"It's a step in the right direction," Cousins said. "It's such a week-to-week league where it can be all over the map. You just never know what the next game will bring and what the next game will call for. But when you have 81 snaps and 58 pass attempts, you certainly get some opportunities to spread it around."

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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