Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons are on top of the NFC South, especially when facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Cousins had an impressive game on Sunday, throwing four touchdown passes with no interceptions, completing 79.3% of his throws — 23 out of 29 — for 276 yards in a 31-26 victory at Tampa Bay. This performance came after he set a team record with 509 passing yards and four touchdowns in a previous game against the Buccaneers on October 3.
In two strong outings against Tampa Bay, Cousins has eight touchdown passes and just one interception. In his other six games this season, he has thrown six touchdown passes but also six interceptions.
He only had more than one touchdown pass in another game, where he threw two in a 22-21 win at Philadelphia on September 16.
Cousins even surprised everyone with his running ability against the Bucs. He scrambled for 13 yards on one play and successfully picked up a first down on a fourth-and-1 run.
This 13-yard run was unexpected for the 36-year-old quarterback, who is recovering from an Achilles tendon injury and hadn’t run for more than one yard in his first seven games with Atlanta.
“He looked like Patrick Mahomes out there, man,” said Falcons coach Raheem Morris. “It was outstanding.”
Cousins wasn’t quite ready for that comparison, saying, “Let’s not get carried away.”
With this win, the Falcons (5-3) took sole possession of first place in the NFC South. They are 4-0 against division rivals and have the tiebreaker over second-place Tampa Bay.
The Falcons aren’t complaining that a large part of Cousins’ success has come against the Buccaneers. While he may not have been a top performer in fantasy football in other games, he has provided the steady leadership the team expected when he signed a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.
Atlanta is aiming for its first playoff spot since 2017 and brought in Cousins to bring stability at quarterback. With him leading the way, the Falcons are on track for the playoffs.
