Introduction: Kirk Cousins,

ATLANTA – The NFC South race is a long
one as the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa
Bay Buccaneers decided to

make Thursday night’s game an
offensive battle, with both
teams scoring on a TD pass on
their first possessions.

Kirk Cousins ​​scored his fourth
touchdown of the game, a 45-yarder to
Khadarrell Hodge, who came off the bench after
Derrick London was injured, and the
Falcons won 36-30 in overtime.

Youngo Kuo kicked a 52-yard field goal
moments later to send the game into
overtime, but Cousins ​​did the rest, posting a
career-high 509 passing yards to lead Atlanta (3-2).
first place in the division. . He was sent to Thailand.

Atlanta Falcons

Games like these are the difference between making the playoffs and winning the division, and Atlanta is already having its part.

In all three of the Falcons’ wins this season, they have had less than a minute left in the fourth quarter. They became the first team in NFL history to win three games in the first five games of a season while falling behind in the final moments of the fourth quarter.

Atlanta, now 3-2 after impressive wins over New Orleans and Tampa Bay, has an early lead in the NFC South thanks to tiebreakers over the Saints and Buccaneers. This could be crucial in a tight competition in December and January.

QB Breakdown: Cousins ​​​​looks healthy and back at quarterback. He completed 42 of 58 passes for 509 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

According to ESPN Research, it’s the sixth time he’s thrown for 350 yards and three touchdowns in a prime-time game, tied with Patrick Mahomes and Peyton Manning.

Stats that stand out

Derrick Rondon continues his dominance against Tampa Bay. Three of his four career 100-yard games came against the Buccaneers, including Thursday’s 12-yard performance. He also scored his first touchdown in the first quarter against Tampa Bay.

Promising trend: Darnell Mooney looks more like a receiver in Chicago in 2021 than he did in his last two seasons with the Bears. He debuted with a pair of touchdowns, and although he played games with one catch and one touchdown in 2021, his nine catches for 105 yards were both career highs. But he got two drops, one of which might have cost him.

Most surprising performance: A week after failing to catch a pass against New Orleans, Kyle Pitts bounced back with his best game in nearly a year with seven scores and 88 yards. His total catches and yards were the most since Oct. 8, 2023 against Houston, when he had a Pitts-record seven catches and 87 yards on 11 targets. – Michael Rothstein